Blues boss pleased despite stalemate

Birmingham boss Chris Hughton is confident his players will be on form when the Championship campaign starts despite a goalless pre-season draw against Hereford.

An experienced Blues backline including Stephen Carr, Liam Ridgewell and Scott Dann were not troubled by Hereford's attack, but their lack of cutting edge in attack might be seen as a cause for concern for Hughton.

Blues enjoyed long spells of possession at Edgar Street and, despite the creative talents of Spanish midfielder Michel, who played in behind striker Adam Rooney, the match ended in stalemate.

Hughton said: "My job is to make sure that come August 6 the squad are ready for the challenge of the Championship.

"The game against Hereford was another good step in that direction and we'll now build on that in the friendlies at Oxford on Tuesday night and against Everton at St Andrew's next Saturday.

"A good number of players got 90 minutes under their belts and that will do no harm at all.

"I felt we finished the first-half well and carried on in the same vein in the second half.

"The only area where we probably lacked a bit was in the final third where, despite our efforts, it didn't quite come off.

"That being said we weren't helped by the fact that three of our strikers – Cameron Jerome, Nikola Zigic and Marlon King – are all out injured at the moment."