Birmingham City have been on a roll under Garry Monk.
Birmingham City are on one of their best runs of the season, and it is no coincidence that it is happening under the guidance of new boss Garry Monk.
The former Swansea City boss suffered back-to-back defeats upon arriving at St Andrew’s, but there were still positives to be found, and now the Blues find themselves riding a three-game winning streak after triumphs over Hull City, Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers.
A win against Burton Albion could take them even further away from the drop zone, which they are currently above by five points. While Barnsley do have a game in hand, there is cause for optimism among Birmingham supporters as Monk continues to get the best out of this group of players.
Looking ahead it seems like survival is becoming more and more of a possibility with each passing day and, if that happens, Birmingham need to look towards the future. Monk has never come across as a manager who wants to jump the gun so to speak, which is good because maintaining realistic expectations is going to be key for the Blues right now.
The Blues have had a few years where a play-off push seemed like a reasonable prospect, only for their hopes to fizzle out down the stretch. Now, in their current position, they have the resources and players necessary to make some real strides in 2018/19 – but they have to be smart about it.
The first task will be ensuring the continued progress of players like Fabbrini, Keita and Tesche, all of whom are set to return from loan moves abroad in the next few months. Within their actual squad, Birmingham have got a nice mix of experienced talent and young stars who have bucket loads of potential, but fans should not be disheartened if they do not immediately see movement in the transfer market.
Steadying the ship is the most important thing Monk can do, and they are not even close to accomplishing that goal yet. They need young, hungry names who are passionate about playing for the Blues week in, week out, which does not translate to throwing money around from June until August.
Ambition is great, but Birmingham should focus on who they have got at their disposal before anything else.
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