Birmingham City manager Garry Monk will attempt to bounce back from a poor start to life at St Andrew’s this weekend.
Birmingham City manager Garry Monk appears to be more than ready for what is sure to be a rollercoaster few weeks in the lead-up to the end of the Championship season.
The Blues currently find themselves occupying one of the three relegation spots in the second tier, with relegation to League One seeming more and more likely as the weeks go on.
As reported by BBC Sport, however, the aforementioned Monk is taking a calmer and more realistic approach to proceedings.
“As long as you’re in the bottom three, you’re already 1-0 down,” Monk told BBC West Midlands.
“Adversity is against you before you step on the pitch so we have to be going at it from the very first second,” said Monk.
“It all comes down to hard work and commitment, but you also need things to go your way.”
The current situation at St Andrew’s raises the question as to just how much time managers require in order to save a sinking ship. For example, Monk came in with just over two months remaining in the Championship campaign, and yet if he is not able to keep them up then some will deem him to be a failure.
But in the face of the adversity he has mentioned, Monk seems prepared for what could prove to be the most difficult weeks of his young managerial career. Following his exit from Leeds United and an uneasy tenure at Middlesbrough, he needs a boost in order to restore what was once a promising reputation in the wake of his time with Swansea City.
Monk will be aware of the quality of his squad in comparison to the sides around them, and while that will increase the pressure on them to stay up, the Blues going down to the third tier has almost felt like an inevitability over the last few years.
From their final day heroics to staying up courtesy of individual performances, it has been a long time since Birmingham fans have had much to consistently celebrate.
Thankfully for supporters, the majority of their final fixtures are more than winnable, starting with their game against Hull City tomorrow.
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