By his own admission Steve Bruce's efforts to turn Birmingham City into a team more cherished for its footballers than feared for its fighters has been a difficult process.

And, the manager said yesterday, the price they have had to pay has been on the goal-scoring front with Birmingham's struggles this season adequately explained by the fact that only Sunderland, Portsmouth and Everton have found the back of their opponents' net less frequently.

Birmingham's return of 22 goals in 27 matches is only two more than hopeless case Sunderland and their leading scorer is a midfielder - Jiri Jarosik - with a mere seven.

Their strikers, Emile Heskey, Mikael Forssell and Chris Sutton have only five Premiership goals among them.

"Scoring more goals - that's the biggest question concerning where we've come from and what type of team we've tried to become in the last 18 months," Bruce said.

"We have attempted to improve in that respect but it hasn't quite happened. The whole team has to take responsibility.

"Defensively we have always seemed very sound.

The whole team is set up that way. But there is a balance to be found between being defensively good and being capable of scoring - we haven't found it yet."

Third from bottom they might be but it's not as if Birmingham have been outplayed on many occasions. But, just as in their last match - a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough - they have failed to turn possession into something more tangible.

"Middlesbrough mirrored Tottenham, Newcastle United and the others when we've had as much play as the opposition but we haven't been able to stick the ball in the back of the net," Bruce said.

"Had some of those games gone our way then we all know what a difference six or eight points make - we could be mid-table right now with the pressure off. But we're not and we have to do something about it."

Starting with Saturday's vital home match with West Bromwich Albion - the definitive six-pointer. City trail their neighbours by three points which means victory would lift them out of the relegation zone for the first time in many months.

The chances of Matthew Upson, Muzzy Izzet and Kenny Cunningham featuring this weekend continue to hang in the balance.

Your big match predictions so far:

DAVID GEORGE
Birmingham

Team: Blues
Key player for us: David Dunn
Key player for them: Don't know
Prediction: 1-0 to Blues
Will your team stay up? Yes
Comments: "We shouldn't be afraid of Albion. We have the pace to get in behind them and the strength in midfield to starve them of possession. Come on you Blues - KRO!"

ALAN
Kingswood, Dublin

Team: Blues
Key player for us: Jermaine Pennant
Key player for them: Daren Carter
Prediction: 3-1 to Blues
Will your team stay up? Yes
Comments: "It's time we showed some bottle -  Up the Blues"

DEAN JOHNSTON
Kidderminster

Team: Albion
Key player for us: Curtis Davies
Key player for them: Jarosick
Prediction: 1-1
Will your team stay up? Yes
Comments: "Sunderland apart, this is the kind of game we usually get well up for. If we can defend well and frustrate them in the first-half, the crowd will get on top of them and we can benefit from that. A draw is a better result for us than it is for them."

RATHATER
Middlemore Road, Birmingham

Team: Blues
Key player for us: Sutton
Key player for them: Davies
Prediction: 2-0 to Blues
Will your team stay up? No
Comments: "It's been a long hard season which will be one to forget, seeing birmingham return to the 1st division. Due to lack of investment and ambition we have struggled to recapture our form of the past few seasons. Steve Bruce has not helped matters with his poor tactics and negative play which will result in us being relegated. The sooner we replace him as a manager the better it will be for everyone. I think we will be too strong for the Albion on Sat as they are just as poor a football team as us. Roll on promotion next season."

GARY SMITH
Bearwood

Team: Albion
Key player for us: Greening
Key player for them: Full backs
Prediction: 2-0 Baggies
Will your team stay up? Yes - if we win Sat
Comments: "Blues can be got at down the flanks. They are weak at full back and, for a team with such big centre halves it's amazing how often then are caught out by early crosses. Greening needs to concentrate on getting in good balls from wide and less on trying to play the hard man."

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