Birmingham players feeling the strain

Birmingham midfielder Lee Bowyer admits the players are feeling the strain as boss Alex McLeish gives his squad more rest days.

Blues head into Saturday's home clash with Hull aiming to pick themselves up from Sunday's 5-1 thrashing at Manchester City.

The Eastlands horror show was their sixth game without a win and Bowyer admits the squad are finding it hard going.

He said: "It's been hard for us physically this season, because we haven't changed the side much. Some people want to rotate, but we've been fortunate enough in that we've had no injuries so, in a way, it's been a good thing.

"But maybe it does catch up with you a bit, especially when you play on pitches like Manchester City's. It felt a lot bigger than our pitch, and they have exceptional players to use it.

"We have to learn from that and pull ourselves together for the weekend."

McLeish has taken heed of these warnings and allowed his players extra time off to rest up, to ensure a productive season doesn't fizzle out at the last.

He said: "They have had a long, hard season and they're getting a bit more time off now.

"When they come in to train you can see a little bit of slackness in their possession play, or in the first moments of training after a couple of days off, but we quickly get it out of their systems.

"But we don't allow it to seep in and create bad habits. You hope days off are for the mental strain, as well as the physical.

"There's no doubt about it, those strains will take their toll."

McLeish also hit back at suggestions that midfielder Sebastian Larsson has been left out of the side because of his ongoing contract negotiations.

Craig Gardner has been preferred on the right side in recent games, as Larsson has failed to agree a new deal despite several rounds of talks.

Blues have taken up the year's option on his current deal, which was due to expire in June, but McLeish has dispelled any rumours of a rift.

He said: "It's not right. It's wrong to think it's anything to do with the contract. I judge the players in football terms. When we ended that great run, one or two players looked as if they needed freshening up.

"There were a couple of games where some players went off the boil.

"Craig has come in and done nothing wrong."