Alex McLeish saw his side’s 100 per cent start to the season come to a disappointing end as Blues were humbled by a youthful Southampton outfit.

Impressive strikes from Lee Holmes and Adam Lallana avenged Saints’ 2-1 Championship defeat to Birmingham at St Mary’s, 10 days previous to this Carling Cup tie.

McLeish confessed after that game, in which Kevin Phillips claimed a late winner, his team had struggled to cope with Saints’ unorthodox ‘Dutch’ style.

It seems little was learned as they fell behind in the 17th minute. A floated cross from right-back Lloyd James saw an off-balance David McGoldrick evade Blues captain Liam Ridgewell to head the ball back to the edge of the penalty area.

Former Derby prodigy Holmes took one touch to control the ball and a second to smash an unstoppable half-volley past Colin Doyle.

That wake up call failed to lift Blues from their slumber and they were almost two down as a Holmes free-kick found its way to Lallana, who struck the crossbar and the post with two separate shots, before the ball was frantically cleared.

Phillips was introduced at half-time to predictable vitriol from the home support but he could do little to influence proceedings, as McLeish’s men were pegged back at the other end.

Newly-crowned terrace hero Quincy Owusu-Abeyie did finally force Bartosz Bialkowski into a save on 74 minutes with a sharp low drive, but 12 minutes later the game was up.

Lallana received the ball in a threatening position just outside the box, ghosted past Ridgewell and then slammed a finish into the far corner to end Blues’ League Cup participation in convincing fashion.

McLeish was scathing about his side, who have started their Championship campaign with three straight victories, and claimed they deserved what they got.

He said: “We didn’t start the game well and I can’t say we got on any better as the game went on. We were really poor and couldn’t even find another player in the same shirt.

“That’s to take nothing away from Southampton because they played well and deserved their victory.

“I’d like to say we deserved something out of the game but we got exactly what we deserved. We lost to the better side on the night.”