5 players Birmingham City must axe in January

Birmingham have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, as the Rowett revolution continues to instil belief in the Midlands that it might be enough to lead them back to the promised land.

Many of these players have enjoyed big turnarounds in form and are full of confidence, but believing they're ready for the play-offs may be a bit premature, and they have lost three out of their last five league games.

There are still frailties in the team where other teams hold an advantage over Birmingham, and the Blues will have to address these areas if they have realistic promotion ambitions.

Whilst a full scale exodus is certainly not needed, Rowett will have to root out any weakness in his team and replace them with talent to ensure their top six challenge is more out of expectation than hope.

In the opinion of FLW's Michael Hasan here are FIVE players Rowett needs to get rid of in January to ensure the team can maintain its challenge......

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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE PLAYERS!

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Neil Eardley

The 27-year-old isn't getting a game at Birmingham and is not adequate cover for the revolutionised defence at Birmingham.

He is still on the wage bill at Birmingham though and Rowett would be wise to get him off it, so he can amass some money to bring in better players on free's or loan deals.

He has only featured for them a couple of times this season and failed to make an impression, and his future certainly doesn't lie at Birmingham.

Rowett did clear out the defence in the summer but surprisingly Eardley has remained.

Paul Robinson

He may be the club captain and has been with Birmingham through the good and the bad times, but he is 36 now and not good enough to be leading that defence.

Michael Morrison is clearly the best centre back in the team and Robinson is too inconsistent.

He was in a good run of form but he has recently been making mistakes like the one against Wolves.

Whilst he will be missed as a figure of leadership, Birmingham must get rid of him if they look to continue their revolution under Rowett.

Adam Legzdins

The goalkeeper has been replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak and is no longer required at St Andrews, and is unlikely to get in the first team.

Like Eardley, he is simply another wage not worth paying when there are better keepers available on loan or free transfers.

Whilst he may be kept as cover it seems wasted for what was once a promising career.

Wes Thomas

When the striker returns in January, Rowett should look to get him off the wage bill as soon as possible.

He has brought in Madsen who is a young Danish striker and with Clayton Donaldson as the main man, there is no need for the inconsistent Wes Thomas.

He is on a fairly disappointing loan spell to Swindon making it unlikely that he'll forge into the first team, so Rowett should get rid of him to free up funds to dip into the loan market.