Juninho Bacuna opens up on 'hard times' without Tony Mowbray at Birmingham City

Birmingham City midfielder Juninho Bacuna has detailed the difficult period he and the rest of the squad have endured dealing with manager Tony Mowbray's absence.

The Curuacao international, who was Blues' standout player in the 4-3 defeat to Southampton on Saturday, has unveiled none of the players have had any direct contact with Mowbray since he stepped back from duties due to illness. Assistant head coach Mark Venus, who has been conducting the usual managerial duties in the meantime, is the only one in Blues' first-team setup to have spoken to Mowbray since February 19.

Bacuna has admitted Birmingham have an extra fire in their belly to make their manager proud following his sudden exit but notes how emotionally tricky it has been. "It's hard, especially with what’s going on with him. But I think everyone is trying to work hard in training and games for him. We try to support him in every way we can and hopefully he’ll be back soon," Bacuna said.

Blues have had two gruelling fixtures without Mowbray so far, including the heartbreaking loss to Southampton – a seven-goal thriller decided deep in second-half stoppage time. The other was a 3-1 defeat away at automatic promotion chasers Ipswich Town. Results elsewhere have hotted things up in the Sky Bet Championship relegation battle, leaving Blues merely one goal difference above the drop.

When asked whether staying up would give Mowbray the lift he needs, Bacuna said: “Yeah, definitely. We need to start winning games again. I think the club needs it, the players need it and the manager needs it. We will do everything in our power to win games and stay up in the league."

Bacuna was also asked what it has been like going from 100 to zero with Mowbray so quickly. “He’s been speaking with Mark. If the players want contact with him, everyone has got his number," the midfielder said. "If someone wants to speak to him, they can, but at the moment we’re just giving him space to recover. We let Mark deal with it and if we need something we’ll speak to Mark and he’ll tell him," Bacuna continued.

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Birmingham are expected to be without Mowbray in the dugout for another four to six weeks, a period the football club takes on between seven and ten of the remaining 12 Championship fixtures. The vital run begins with a trip to Hull City on March 5 and ends with the hosting of Norwich City on May 4.