Sunday 13 March 2016 17:45, UK
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett insisted that his side are still very firmly in the thick of the Sky Bet Championship promotion race after a 0-0 draw against Wolves at Molineux.
Clayton Donaldson and Jon Toral wasted excellent chances in the closing stages of the game to boost Birmingham's promotion hopes and they sit four points outside the top six with a match in hand.
Rowett, whose side have won just one of their last 11 away games and failed to score in their last five, said all is still to play for.
"I think it is still very much in the balance," Rowett said. "There are a lot of teams up there and it is who can handle the pressure of having to win almost every game.
"I said at the start of the season that if we can be in and around the play-offs with 10 games to go then it would be an unbelievable achievement for us this season.
"We are and we haven't been out of the top 10 all season which I think is very positive. If we can get a a result from our game in hand then we are probably one win away from getting in and around the top six.
"So we will take that. After the international break we have three home games in a week which I think will be decisive. There is still a lot of football to be played.
"We are going to try and enjoy and embrace the opportunity that we have got and hopefully we will take a few of those chances and win a few more games.
"We certainly should have taken one of those chances (against Wolves) but I can't be critical of the players. It is a local derby and in the second half we have had five or six really good chances.
"But I think it is incredibly difficult to be disappointed with this group of players as they are working incredibly hard."
Wolves had been chasing a third successive home win and did dominate the first hour, but they failed to make that pay to the disappointment of manager Kenny Jackett whose side have won just two of their last 11 games.
"I felt that we were the better side in the first half and Birmingham were the better side in the second," Jackett said.
"Local derbies are very tight and the way that things went in the second half I am not displeased with a point out of the game.
"We stuck at it during the second period and made sure that we got a clean sheet. We haven't got enough clean sheets at home this season.
"In the first half we had some momentum and passing moves but couldn't find the goal. But Birmingham have a very solid team and can sit in through the first period of a game and then open up which they did the last half an hour.
"We have worked hard on our goals against column as zeroes and ones give you chances of getting points.
"There are too many times, particularly at home, when we have been easy to score against which has taken the game away from us and we need to be resilient as it is hard to dominate for the whole match. We have to learn and improve."
