Bruce: No pressure

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce insists he “hasn’t had any indication” that his job is under threat after a poor sequence of results have seen the midlands club drop out of the Coca-Cola Championship top two.

But Bruce, who is due to celebrate five years in charge at St Andrews next month, acknowledges that in general terms managers are now being given less time to be a success by chairman and directors desperate to be part of the Barclays Premiership.

City co-owner David Sullivan and chairman David Gold have stood by Bruce despite their relegation from the top flight in May and he has rebuilt the side during the summer.

But just two points from the last four games, largely due to some slipshod defending in 3-2 defeats at Leeds and Luton, has put greater onus on Birmingham to overcome Norwich at home tonight.

Bruce said: “I read that in the Championship the average life span of a manager is now a year and a month. What chance have you got in those circumstances?

“That’s the world we now live in. You have got to make an instant impact because of the demand and expectation levels.”