After wishing 2006 had never started, Birmingham City supporters surely wish now it would never end as all their Christmas dreams came true at St Andrew's.

A winner by substitute Cameron Jerome to defeat former Aston Villa manager John Gregory on the day when the infamous gypsy's curse officially ended sent the best crowd of the season home happy. Can it get much better for Bluenoses at the moment?

Eight points separate Steve Bruce's table-topping side from their nearest rivals following defeats to Preston North End and Derby County as Blues again triumphed without truly baring their teeth.

Jerome's goal near the hour deservedly won the points after the sides had gone in level at half-time.

Matthew Upson's towering 21st-minute header was cancelled out - rather fortuitously, it has to be said - by Lee Cook's deflected shot from the edge of the penalty area.

It was left to the continually outstanding Gary McSheffrey to set up the £3 million striker for his first league goal on home soil to bring Bruce his ninth victory in 11 games.

Bruce sent up assistant Eric Black to do his talking - in fairness, his team has spoken volumes for the manager in the past few days - as the feelgood factor sweeping the club shows little sign of dissipating.

"We created enough chances to have won the game handsomely," Black said, "but you can't expect strikers to score three and four every time they step on to the pitch like they have been doing.

"The defence made sure that QPR didn't score more than once - I thought they were exceptional again in that respect - and it keeps things bubbling along.

"Of course, we are still a long way from where we want to be and we are not taking anything for granted. Eight points is a nice cushion but, in this league, it can be swallowed up very quickly with the number of games that everyone plays."

Asked about Jerome's goal - an absolute gift following unselfish work by McSheffrey - just seconds after entering the fray as a second-half substitute, Blues' assistant manager defended his overall contribution.

"It was his first touch of note, wasn't it?" Black asked rhetorically, "he's not scored as many goals as he would like but he contributes in plenty of other ways. His pace, his presence and his willingness to work have been invaluable to us."

This team has a method of playing that is difficult to combat with so many angles of attack open to them. Championship defences may be accustomed to thwarting the odd player who is a little out of the ordinary. But with talents like Niklas Bendtner, McSheffrey, Jerome and DJ Campbell all posing very different threats, it is difficult to cater for all eventualities.

Rangers goalkeeper Simon Royce, pelted with paper darts by the fans in the Tilton Road End, had enough about him to stop Bendtner when the Dane charged clean through on the quarter-hour before Blues took the lead.

Campbell was upended near the left touchline and McSheffrey's free kick was met with a header that was worthy of an England international.

Royce was given absolutely no chance as it sailed into the net. Ten minutes later, though, Blues were set on their heels when referee Keith Friend, who enraged the home supporters by failing to stop play for an injury to Jerome that led to his late withdrawal, also allowed Marc Bircham to carry on unimpeded along the right-hand side.

The ball was quickly switched to the opposite flank where Cook curled a shot, via a deflection, past Maik Taylor.

McSheffrey then put the ball into the net, springing the offside trap, while Campbell saw a vicious 25-yarder tipped over before the break.

Little had happened of note until McSheffrey again took advantage of Rangers' horribly square rearguard following Bendtner's intelligent pass.

Instead of trying his luck, he had the presence of mind to square to his colleague who slotted home the winner.

Although Upson was taken off in the final stages with a groin strain - that will be assessed by the club today - and Jerome was also substituted late on, Blues should be able to cope before Luton Town's visit on Friday.

It has often been said by Championship managers that West Bromwich Albion have the strongest collection of players but Gregory disputed that, saying: "I thought the second goal may have been offside," he said, "or am I just clutching at straws?

"This is a tough place to come to. They have a tremendous amount of strength in the squad here, probably the best in the division. You only needed to look at the

bench to see that. I know it was the 100-year celebration of St Andrew's but there is a really positive vibe about the place at the moment. Everyone is on the front foot.

"I was a bit disappointed because I didn't think Birmingham had to play really well to beat us but they have got more than enough to go back up."

After discovering the secret of success at this level, the number of people who disagree with that is surely diminishing by the day.