Stage one of the Mikael Forssell comeback is complete and the Birmingham striker believes it is time to put his foot on the gas and return to the form he showed two seasons ago.

Forssell scored 19 goals and was arguably the hottest property in England as he guided Birmingham to tenth position in the Premiership in 2004.

His last goal for the club was against Wolves in a 2-2 draw in April of that year before disaster struck within a month of the following campaign as a knee injury put his career into cold storage and he was sent back to Chelsea.

The lure of Steve Bruce persuaded Forssell to return to St Andrew's permanently this summer for a fee of £3 million, but it hasn't quite gone according to plan.

Bruce and Forssell have always maintained that it will take virtually all of this campaign before he returns to the player of old but his situation has been highlighted by the club's current predicament.

Seven goals in ten games is a paltry return and being entrenched in the bottom three has only accentuated Birmingham ' s lack of firepower.

Forssell's two goals have come against Scunthorpe in the Carling Cup and with Walter Pandiani still struggling to come to terms with life in the Premiership; the Finnish star has been forced to regain his fitness in the very public glare of the first team.

However, he has been hampered by the quantity of training his body has allowed him to undertake.

Forssell is a self-confessed fitness fanatic who is

renowned for taking a sack of footballs to his local park and spending countless hours on his own working on the fast feet that have bamboozled many a defender.

So he has had to wrestle with his own personal demons and resist the urge to put his body through the wringer until it reached full throttle; thankfully, that moment is looming ever closer.

"I had to take it easy for a while as my body is getting back to being fit slowly, but it means I can start doing more again," admitted a frustrated Forssell.

"I haven't been able to train in the same way as before and not because of my knee, as that is feeling good now, but my whole body has meant I haven't been able to do as much.

"However, my body is now recovering and I can start upping my training levels and I will benefit from that.

"That is what I have been doing during the last week and I can see the difference as I felt sharper against Blackburn and I think I looked sharper, although I definitely need some goals.

"That is my aim, I am working towards it and I am confident I will get there. I just need a little bit of time, but I understand that our situation isn't helping.

"If we had been scoring goals then supporters would have said I am coming back slowly, but now the pressure is on me as well.

Now that Forssell has broken through the fitness barrier, he says it is time to concentrate on football again.

With any lingering doubts over his fitness finally extinguished, Forssell intends to push performances to the forefront of his mind and hopes to see a difference

"Being fit is the most important thing to a footballer as you have to have control over your body and know what you are doing," he continued.

"However, I can now concentrate on the things I need to do on the pitch and keep working at them.

"The first eight games I was just passing the ball easy and getting through games and that isn't like me. I need to be doing my thing in the box and being sharp and that is how I am feeling.

"I know I am not there yet but I am confident because I can feel it coming."

However, Forssell admits that neither himself or his striking cohorts have brushed the issue of goals at St Andrew's under the carpet.

Pandiani missed virtually of all pre-season while he was in dispute with Deportivo La Coruna and, like Forssell is trying to regain his fitness in the first team.

This has placed a huge burden on the shoulders of Heskey, but Forssell's strong selfbelief leaves him confident they can turn the corner.

"I speak to Emile a lot and we are trying to improve all the time," added Forssell. "But we have to work as a team both defensively and in attack. I want to take responsibility but we haven't had too many chances.

"I think it is a collective thing throughout the team.

"But I am not making any excuses I want to take responsibility and start scoring goals and I know I will."