Bolton Wanderers 1 Birmingham City 0

Ricardo Vaz Te inserted the final nail in Birmingham's Premiership coffin with the only goal of a turgid encounter at the Reebok Stadium.

In truth, a 1-0 defeat mattered little and Birmingham's supporters were intent on enjoying the occasion irrespective of the result.

As they chanted "Bye bye to the Premier League" and waved frantically they even drew a standing ovation from the home supporters.

Mario Melchiot tossed his shirt into the crowd and spent an eternity waving to supporters in what was a very public last goodbye.

However, there will be other following him out the exit as a summer of upheaval beckons for Steve Bruce and his squad.

With David Sullivan's claims over the weekend that Birmingham have "wasted money chasing a dream that didn't happen" it is clear that next season's model will undergo radical changes.

His statement that Birmingham are close to their overdraft limit is particularly worrying after two seasons of profit and the board must be held culpable as they ultimately sanction every deal.

First team coach Terry Bullivant is already scanning the situations vacant in the quest for alternative employment next season and other will surely follow.

Bruce has confessed on television that this is a "horrible" time for him, as relegation ensures drastic job cuts at St Andrew's.

The upshot of their annual meeting at Sullivan's Essex mansion last Friday has given Bruce two weeks to formulate his blueprint for success next season working within strict budgetary restraints.

Silk purses and sow's ears spring to mind.

Melchiot, Chris Sutton, Nicky Butt, Martin Latka, Muzzy Izzet (possibly), Stan Lazaridis, Jamie Clapham, Nico Vaesen and Jiri Jarosik are some of the casualties as Bruce contemplates Championship football.

With Sullivan pleading poverty it was no surprise to see the team pull up on a coach that looked distinctly less salubrious than their usual model - nothing is sacrosanct at St Andrew's nowadays.

The vocal band of travelling supporters witnessed their first glimpse of the future as a team shorn of of some of the star attractions took to the field against Bolton.

Jarosik will be sorely missed as will Cunningham but for the unfortunate Izzet, his move to St Andrew's has been an unmitigated disaster.

With the club trying to reach an agreement on his contract it is a sorry end for a prodigiously talented player.

Sutton was once again absent and he must rank as one of the costliest mistakes in the club's history

According to Sullivan, £1.25 million was given to Sutton for three months work and one goal. Nice work if you can get it.

However, Birmingham's problems have been well documented this term and regurgitating the glaringly obvious is futile.

Players such as Mehdi Nafti, making his first appearance for 12 months, will have an integral role to play next season if Blues are to be promoted and his dynamism has been sorely missed.

Dudley 'DJ' Campbell will also have prominent part to play and he was at the crux of Birmingham's sporadic attacks.

After latching on to a Jermaine Pennant pass he expertly picked out Nicky Butt in the penalty area, but his control betrayed him and the danger passed.

A Kevin Davies header aside, the first half will be instantly expunged from the memory banks and that is some feat in this season of unrelenting purgatory.

A Birmingham fan dressed as a diver with regulation flippers was the biggest threat to Jussi Jaaskelainen at the start of the second stanza.

He emerged from the Woodford Group Stand and propelled himself across the goalline to earn a standing ovation from both sets of supporters disinterested by events on the pitch.

However, Campbell was then proffered the perfect opportunity to open his account for Birmingham following a threaded through ball from Pennant.

He bore down on Jaaskelainen but the Finland goakeeper repelled the effort with his knees and saw Campbell's resultant cross evade Emile Heskey.

The ubiquitous striker was denied again 15 minutes from time by Jaaskelainen but Blues were, by now a goal in arrears.

Henrik Pedersen's point-blank volley was well saved by Maik Taylor just after the hour mark, but he was left redundant five minutes later when Ricardo Vaz Te broke the deadlock.

A slick passing move engineered space for Kevin Nolan and Vaz Te ghosted in behind Matt Sadler to volley past the exposed Taylor.

Davies missed an opportunity double the hosts advantage and gallows humour emerged from Birmingham supporters with a rousing rendition of We'll Meet Again.

Was it wishful thinking? Twelve months from now we will have the answer.