Birmingham City legend fires stark reminder before Championship relegation showdown

Birmingham City legend and now coach Paul Robinson has issued a stark reminder to the players before Saturday’s vital Sky Bet Championship clash against Norwich City.

In what is nothing less than a relegation decider for Blues after failing to beat Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town, anything other than three points likely won’t be enough to survive.

Birmingham, down in 22nd, are one point behind Plymouth Argyle and three below Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn Rovers before the final day. The strong goal difference means a defeat for any of the three teams above will be enough for Blues to stay up – as long as Norwich are beaten.

But it’ll be tricky to see off the Canaries as David Wagner’s men still haven’t fully confirmed their play-off status and finishing fifth rather than sixth results in a more favourable semi-final fixture.

Robinson, who played a key role in Blues’ remarkable 2-2 comeback draw away at Bolton Wanderers to complete a last-ditch relegation escape a decade ago, has shared a motivational pre-match sermon.

“In May 2014 we had what seemed to most as an impossible task, 2-0 down with 15 mins to go and it felt like fate had been written on the wall... but we had other plans and I never stopped believing that anything’s possible,” Robinson wrote on his Instagram page.

“The heart of every Blues fan past and present is woven into the very fabric of the Blues shirt which I wore with pride. If only I could wear the shirt just one more time and stand side by side going into battle, this time I will be in the dugout.

“I’ll be motivating the lads and so will 20-plus thousand fans cheering us on. Feed off the energy from the stands, play with game management, belief and the ability to get the job done,” Robinson said.