John Eustace makes relegation admission after Birmingham City defeat to Watford

Blackpool’s 6-1 hammering of QPR dragged Blues a little closer to the relegation places, with seven points now separating Eustace’s side and the bottom three.

It was the early stages of the match against the Hornets that bothered the boss most, with Imran Louza and Keinan Davis putting the home side 2-0 up after just 16 minutes before Britt Assombalonga sealed the victory in a second half that at least showed some improvement from Birmingham.

Eustace is under no illusions that his side are in a battle near the bottom, saying: ““We know we are in a fight down there – we have been all season. It’s important we don’t get carried away with the highs and lows and we will see where we are at the end of the season.”

Scott Hogan and Auston Trusty missed opportunities for Blues after the break and the manager did look at the positives after what he described as a ‘disppointing’ opening period.

“It was a really disappointing first 20 minutes – we were far too passive,” he said. “The attitude of the boys in the second half was better and much more like us. There were a couple of chances we really should have been taking.

“It has been a problem all season – we need to be more clinical in the final third – but the most pleasing thing is that we never give up. If we had taken some of those chances the result might have been different.

“The changes were very positive and from a defensive point of view we looked much better. Watford have fantastic Premier League players and have underachieved this season, so the important thing for me was that second half.”

Birmingham face another huge clash at the weekend as they hit the road again to take on fellow strugglers QPR.