Blues midfielder David Dunn has insisted Birmingham cannot afford to let their spirits drop and have to “be strong mentally” if they are to have hope of avoiding relegation from the Barclays Premiership.
Birmingham face a difficult task if they are to avoid slipping out of the top flight after a four-year tenure following Monday’s 2-1 defeat by West Ham.
That defeat left Steve Bruce’s side without a Premiership win in seven attempts at St Andrews this season and four points adrift of safety.
To compound City’s misery, Mario Melchiot, Muzzy Izzet and Martin Taylor all picked up injuries which could sideline them until the new year.
But Dunn, who along with Emile Heskey was the only player to emerge with much credit, believes the players cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves as they prepare for Saturday’s must-win home meeting with Fulham.
Dunn said: “What can you say? We gave away two poor goals to put it bluntly. We also had five or six good chances to get more out of the game and we didn’t take them.
“It is disappointing. I felt we deserved something out of the game. Apart from the two poor goals we gave away, West Ham didn’t create anything.
“It is always us. I can’t think this season when we have conceded a goal where someone has done a bit of magic and smashed the ball into the top corner. It always seems to come from our mistakes and not doing things right.
“As regards having a cutting edge and killing teams off, we haven’t done that this season. I’m disappointed. It is important for us to dust ourselves down and focus on Saturday now.
“But we have got to lift ourselves. We get paid well to go out there and give our all and that’s what we have got to do on Saturday. We have got to stick together and fight.
“You’ve got to be confident, believe in yourself, be focused on what you are going to do and, if we do that, we’ve got half a chance of getting something.
“If everyone has got their heads down and dwelling on Monday, we don’t stand as good a chance as we do if we go out there and be confident.
“That’s the key. We’ve got to be strong mentally, pick ourselves back up and work our socks off again on Saturday. The game is crucial and we definitely need to win that one.”
Heskey admitted: “The lads were down on Monday. It wasn’t a bad performance, it was just sloppy goals again. It was probably one of our better performances.
“You make your own mistakes and we have got to try and cut them out. We could probably have prevented both of those goals.
“We know we have got to get results. The results are the main thing, not the performances. It is frustrating. We want to be pushing up that table. One or two wins and you are out of the relegation zone.”
