Cisse thanks Blues fans for support

Birmingham midfielder Aliou Cisse has thanked the club’s fans for their “warmth and compassion” as he tries to come to terms with losing 11 members of his family and many close friends in a ferry disaster in Senegal.

More than 1,100 people perished in the tragedy last month including dozens from his village near to Ziguinchor, from where the ferry set sail.

Cisse won enormous admiration from Blues fans when he stayed to play in the match at West Ham before returning home to pay his respects to the dead.

Now they are set to show their support when he returns to action in tomorrow’s home game with Manchester City by turning the Tilton End into a huge Senegal flag by holding up green, gold and red cards before the kick-off.

Cisse told the Birmingham Evening Mail: “I know the fans like me and since the disaster they have really taken me to their hearts and that has greatly touched me.

“They are not fans who just cheer their players on the pitch. They have shown me their warmth and compassion and I want to thank them all. They have sent me so many messages of support.

“For what the people at this club and the fans have done for me recently, I don’t know how to repay them.

“What I will do is give my very best week in and week out and hopefully in the future we will be able to share in something good.”

Cisse revealed the extent of the tragedy on the ferry which was taking passengers from the south of Senegal to Dakar.

He said: “Not only were some of my family on board but also dozens of friends - people from the village where I grew up and went to school with.

“I lost a lot of people whom I loved and who were close to me. For my country, it was a terrible thing and we are still trying to come to terms with what happened.”

Only 64 of the 1,034 passengers survived the disaster and the bodies of more than 400 passengers still remain trapped in the upturned hull.