Birmingham City beat Stoke City 2-0 on Boxing Day.
Stoke City manager Gary Rowett believes his former club Birmingham City are one of the contenders for a playoff spot come the end of the season following the Blues’ Boxing Day win, Birmingham Mail report.
“They deserve to be up there. As we know getting up there is one thing, staying up there is difficult because it is such a tough league. They have been very good,” Rowett explained.
“They are in the play-off picture, it’s as simple as that. It’s maintaining that level because there are lots of good teams up there and lots of competition.”
Birmingham moved to within two points of the playoffs following their win over Stoke, and they snapped the Potters’ impressive ten-game unbeaten streak with a deserved victory at St Andrew’s.
The Blues’ current position of seventh in the Championship table is even more impressive when considering the club’s financial position and the difficulties they had of strengthening the squad.
Manager Garry Monk took over a relegation-threatened side and only managed to secure their safety last-term on the final day of last season when they recorded a home win over Fulham.
They are only three wins away from matching last season’s points total of 46 with half the season to play, therefore their rapid improvement over the past six months has come as a surprise to most.
Rowett, a former manager of the Blues, flirted with the playoffs during his tenure at St Andrew’s but under the guidance of Monk there appears to be a stronger foundation and a bigger belief that they can do it.
The Midlands side have heavy competition from big-spenders such as Nottingham Forest and rivals Aston Villa just below them in the table, but they have shown they belong up there with the 2-1 victory at league leaders Leeds United proving their potential.
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