Gold: Mistakes made
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Birmingham chairman David Gold has admitted mistakes made by the club's board have contributed to their relegation plight.
The St Andrews side will slip out of the Premier League for the second time in three seasons if either Fulham or Reading match their result against Blackburn at the weekend.
Gold believes the protracted nature of Carsen Yeung's failed takeover bid contributed hugely to their problems.
Negotiations with Yeung's Grandtop International Holdings company were shelved in December, but by then the saga had already led to the departure of manager Steve Bruce.
With discussions over a new contract halted by majority shareholder Yeung, Bruce elected to leave the club and take over at Premier League rivals Wigan, who he has steered clear of relegation danger.
Gold accepts that discussions with Yeung should have been concluded in a more timely manner and that the team were affected by events off the field.
Traumatic
He told Sky Sports News: "I've been in football 15 years and chairman for 11, and I would say this has been the most traumatic.
"We had a failed takeover bid, which certainly caused problems and caused difficulties.
"We made mistakes as a board. We made mistakes in allowing the takeover to drag on for some three months.
"There were difficult times, there is no question that was a difficult time for the football club, particularly in terms of results, then losing Steve Bruce at a critical time when he left to go to Wigan."
Bruce's departure paved the way for Alex McLeish to step into the St Andrews hot-seat, which Gold regards as the only saving grace of the whole affair.
Silver lining
He added: "These are not easy times for a football club. To be in a takeover bid, losing your manager, you almost have to start all over again. The takeover bid collapsed, that in itself was traumatic.
"There was one silver lining from all of those difficult times. The one redeeming feature was that we brought in a manager in Alex McLeish and his backroom staff, who I think are an exceptional team.
"It takes time for people to settle into a new job, but that is the one silver lining in what has been an extremely difficult season."
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