Chris Davies admits illness impacting several Birmingham City players
Birmingham City made ten changes for their 2-1 FA Cup second round victory over Blackpool, some of which were forced through illness.
Blues manager Chris Davies wanted to rotate heavily anyway but had to make more changes than perhaps anticipated as several players were unavailable for the trip to Blackpool.
Davies was delighted to see his high demands being matched by a new-look starting XI at Bloomfield Road as fringe players shone. Blackpool mounted a late comeback but first-half goals from Lyndon Dykes and Lukas Jutkiewicz were enough to secure Birmingham a place in the third round of the competition.
With the fixture congestion ramping up throughout December and January, Blues’ squad will be stretched to its limits. It’s good practice to share out game time at any stage of the season but especially now as Davies wants his players to maintain the highest intensity in League One.
“To make ten changes like I did, there aren't many teams who could deliver that type of performance," Davies said after the win over Blackpool.
"The players who came in, they looked like us, they looked like a Birmingham team who what they were doing. That's because they've been training hard everyday and that's a testament to them.
“It was almost the best case scenario for us to change ten players. I've left a few at home. There are colds and viruses going around at the moment, it's that time of year. The players are fine, but some are in need of a break more than others.
“It freshened everyone up, and it gave minutes to the players who are going to be needed. How else are they going to get match minutes if they don't start games? I was acutely aware of that, that we needed to give them game time to be ready for this fixture list. It was an ideal day for us.”