Seven goals conceded during two damaging defeats, entrenched in the bottom two for Christmas and Steve Bruce receiving criticism from a section of supporters for waving at Manchester United fans during their Carling Cup defeat on Tuesday.

However, that is just a normal week in what is turning out to be a calamitous season for Birmingham City.

The exception to the rule was that the squad managed to stay injury-free for 90 minutes, which in itself is worthy of mention during this troubled campaign.

Ostensibly, it was another bad day at the office on Tuesday night as a second-string Manchester United prayed on Birmingham's brittle confidence and cruised to a comfortable victory.

It was a better performance by Birmingham than the woeful offering at Eastlands just three days earlier, but any repetition of that fiasco would have been nigh on impossible.

Yet the rumblings of dis-content are louder than ever at St Andrew's and the burden of expectation is visibly ebbing the team's confidence.

However, defender Matt Upson insists that, in a perverse sense, the fact that confidence is at its lowest ebb can actually work as a catalyst.

According to the England international, it is time for the shackles to be tossed aside as most critics have already written off the club this season.

"We are looking forward to the Boxing Day fixture at Tottenham Hotspur," said Upson. "What have we got to lose?

"We have got to go into the game with a kind of carefree attitude of 'we can't really play much worse at times.'

"Let's go for it and if we get beat, we get beat. At least let's go out with an attitude of 'let's go and win this match' and I think the fans will respond to that.

"I think we are a little inhibited at the moment. We are not playing with much freedom. Certainly, attacking-wise we are not creating enough all over the pitch and it's a problem. If you can't score goals, you are not going to win. At present, when we concede a goal, you can just feel the roof come in.

"You really have to instil some belief in yourself and the people around you. If people keep believing, then we've got more chance of getting out of this mess."

Upson is adamant that any talk of dressing-room unrest is a misconception and that the squad of players are united in their goal to resurrect Blues' flagging fortunes.

However, he cannot deny that confidence is a rare commodity inside St Andrew's at present, as the team appear to be pushing water uphill.

"I think everyone can see that confidence is lacking a bit," he admitted. "You don't need to be a rocket scientist to

see that, but it is up to us to address that and up to the management to instil that in us as well. We all need to work on that.

"I think the morale is good. It is a very tight-knit bunch of players. There are a lot of friendships and a lot of good things that come out of the squad.

"It is tough going at the moment. We are not doing our jobs well enough, but I don't think you can single anyone out, as you are in it together."

"There is room for improvement throughout the whole team. We've just got to get back to the drawing board and keep battling away."

Meanwhile, Bruce has insisted he didn't mean to cause offence to Birmingham supporters by acknowledging Manchester United supporters on Tuesday evening.

The Birmingham manager responded to chants of "Bruce, give us a wave," from the away contingent with a raised hand.

However, he claims it was nothing more than an instinctive reaction, which he regretted immediately.

"It was an instinctive thing and as soon as I put my hand up, I thought to myself 'I shouldn't really have done that'," said Bruce. "If our supporters were offended, then I apologise, it was not a slight on them or our club at all.

"If people want to hang me for this, then that's up to them but my commitment to Birmingham cannot be called into question." ..SUPL: