Birmingham City's recent woes on their travels continued on Sunday as they were outclassed by Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.

Despite entering the fixture brimming with confidence following an impressive 2-0 victory over Barnsley last Tuesday, the Blues struggled to get going against the Jacks and were fortunate to head into half-time level after Andre Ayew and Yan Dhanda spurned chances for the hosts.

With Pep Clotet unable to find an answer to Swansea's domination in the second period, Birmingham fell behind as Kyle Naughton fired in a fantastic effort before Bersant Celina added a second just five minutes later.

The Blues' misery was then compounded by Borja Baston who coolly converted from the penalty spot after Dhanda was brought down by Marc Roberts.

The victory moved the hosts up to second in the Championship whilst Birmingham slipped to 15th.

Here, we take a look at THREE things we clearly learnt about the Blues after their defeat to the Jacks...

They desperately need to find a solution to their away form

Despite starting the season with an impressive , if fortuitous, victory at Brentford, Birmingham have since lost their last three away games in all competitions, conceding nine goals in the process.

Although their defeat in the Carabao Cup to Portsmouth was excusable due to the fact that they fielded an extremely youthful side, the lack of quality on show during the Blues' recent clashes against Nottingham Forest and Swansea will be concerning for Clotet.

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If the Spaniard cannot find a solution to this problem over the coming months, Birmingham may find it hard to compete in a division which can be extremely unforgiving at times.

Clotet may need to alter his tactical approach

The new boss promised to bring a new style of play to the club but so far it's tough to say much has changed.

Blues have shown flashes that they will have a more attacking approach but it certainly wasn't the case yesterday when they just couldn't keep the ball and were outplayed. As well as that, the victory against the Tykes came with minimal possession and counter-attacking.

The team needs a clear philosophy if they are going to succeed and right now they seem stuck in a difficult situation.

Maxime Colin's return to action cannot come quickly enough

A regular for Birmingham last season, Maxime Colin featured on 44 occasions in all competitions under then-boss Garry Monk.

Having started the current campaign as the club's first-choice right-back, the Frenchmen was forced to sit out of the club's recent clashes with Barnsley and Swansea due to injury.

Although replacement Wes Harding impressed during the former of the two aforementioned games, he failed to back up this performance in Wales yesterday.

With Colin edging closer to a return, it will be incredibly surprising if he doesn't reclaim his place in Clotet's starting eleven from Harding as the Blues always look more composed with him in the side.