Birmingham City captain Damien Johnson believes the club have the character within the dressing room to make sure they don't experience relegation for the second time in three seasons.

The 29-year-old Northern Ireland midfielder was in the Blues side that unexpectedly dropped into the Coca-Cola Championship in 2006 but he said the fact that the current squad was expecting a relegation dogfight this time will stand them in good stead as the season heads into its crucial final weeks.

"The thing about us is that we were under no illusions when we came into this league that we would be in this kind of situation," Johnson said. "I think that counts for a lot. I think we would be prepared if it did go down to the wire.

"The year we went down, it was all a bit of a shock to find ourselves down there. We struggled to deal with it but now it is like chalk and cheese compared to then. We have the character to deal with it."

Alex McLeish's men are on a four-game unbeaten run which includes a 2-2 draw with Arsenal at St Andrew's and confidence is high following last week's 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Birmingham's form has generally been good this season but a lack of goals has left them in a precarious position. However, Mikael Forssell hit a hat-trick against Spurs and Johnson said the return to form of the Finnish international could be a vital factor in their bid for survival.

"The last couple of weeks have been very encouraging in terms of the performances, but we weren't able to get that win," he said. "Against Spurs, it was good to see the ball go in the back of the net.

"At half-time, we did worry that we were only 1-0 up and then Mikael missed a chance from Gary McSheffrey's cross, but then we went 3-0 soon after and it is an unfamiliar feeling for the fans to see their side comfortably in the lead!"

"We all know Mikael's quality. He is one of the best finishers in the Premier League, there is no doubt about that. We are all so pleased for him because there is no-one who works harder and is more dedicated than Mikael. Day-in, day out he hits the back of the net in training and he quite often comes in and does his work on his own.

"He has always said himself that if he gets a run of games, he will score the goals. It wasn't just his finishing last Saturday, though. His all-round game was good. He held the ball up well and won headers. He and James McFadden look like a good partnership. They caused Spurs a lot of problems.

"There is a good spirit in the club at the moment. People might criticise our style of play but we always give our all. It is a nice little run we are on now so we just want to keep it going.

"In the last few games, we have scored a few goals. We have a lot of competition for the striking positions and I think the signs are that we can get goals.

"We are a well-drilled side. The manager drills everything into us day in and day out. He just asks us to give our all and carry out his instructions. Hopefully we can continue to do that."

Blues have another free weekend because of Portsmouth's involvement in the sixth round of the FA Cup, where Harry Redknapp's men face a daunting trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United. But Blues will head to Fratton Park on Wednesday night for the rearranged Premier League game against ninth-placed Pompey with renewed confidence following the victory over Spurs.

Defender Stephen Kelly said: "I expect it will be a tough game in a tight little ground. It is games like this on Wednesday night where we really need to pick up something.

"We need to match Portsmouth, stop them from playing, get in their faces and then try and impose our game on them - the way we want to play. You can't think that just because they are the home team, they should have all the pressure. We won't be going to try and make up the numbers, we're going to try to win it.