Lee
F
BOWYER irstly, I would like to welcome everyone connected to Preston North End to St. Andrew’s for tonight’s fixture.
As with all our opponents, we will pay them a great deal of respect. They are unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions and have played some tough Championship sides during that run too. When you consider the fact that they lost their first three games of the season, it is a testament to the job that Frankie McAvoy is doing. He knows the Club very well and has steadied the ship over the past month. But as always, we must concentrate on what we can do and as a group and we will need to get back to the standards we demand of ourselves if we are to take anything away from the game. Last weekend was the first time since I joined the Club that I thought the players looked off the pace of the game. Not just one or two, but across the pitch. And whilst we cannot afford to turn in too many of those performances, I know that last Saturday was an exception to the rule. The players have been fantastic for me. They have worked tremendously hard for each other, and it is important we do not get away from the progress they gave made over the past six months. The Peterborough United game came at the end of a tough three game week, so it was important we gave the players a few days to recharge their batteries and come back to training ready to kick on again.
4 | BLUES NEWS
There is, of course, a determination to put that result right and with no midweek game, I am expecting us to be a lot fresher and energised this evening. Although we suffered a defeat to Fulham the last time we were here, it had a very different feel to the weekend. Fulham are a side littered with Premier League quality and on the night, they were simply more clinical than we were. In terms of a contest, I believe, and if you were here, you would have witnessed it for yourself, that we were firmly in the game. The players believed they could get back into the game and were a credit for how persistent they were, right until the very end. Tonight, we will need to show those levels of tenacity and effort whilst bringing our quality to the fore. Finally, I must mention our supporters. For sticking with us and clapping the players off against Fulham and the four thousand who travelled to Peterborough and backed us all the way through. You are a credit to this Football Club, and I want to thank you all for your continued support. There will be bumps in the road this year, but I can guarantee you that the players will always give one hundred percent with you behind us. Keep Right On, Lee Bowyer
BIRMINGHAM CITY vs PRESTON NORTH END
