Birmingham City have enjoyed a decent start to life under Aitor Karanka, with the new boss making an instant impact.

The Spaniard didn't arrive at St. Andrew's as an unknown quantity given the work he has done in England over the years but there was an intrigue surrounding whether he would be able to get his ideas across to the team. Plus, he needed new players.

And, he has certainly been given them. Whilst the figures running Blues have often, rightly, come in for criticism, they also warrant praise in this instance.

Quiz: Can you name these 10 ex-Birmingham City midfielders?

Karanka has been backed and the new additions suggest he has had a massive say in recruitment. The likes of George Friend and Adam Clayton have previously worked with the boss at Middlesbrough, Neil Etheridge has Championship experience, whilst the Blues chief would have used his Spanish contacts to finalise swoops for Ivan Sanchez and Mikel San Jose.

Pleasingly, many of those new recruits have made an impression and Blues are already showing the qualities of a good Karanka team - they are hard to beat.

Four games, two goals conceded, zero defeat and six points.

That represents a very solid start for Birmingham and even if fans shouldn't get too carried away, they won't be frightened by anything they've seen in the Championship so far.

However, if Blues are to transition from a decent team to one that can certainly push for the top six, they are missing one vital ingredient. Goals.

So far they've managed three in five games, which includes the cup defeat to Cambridge, and that obviously isn't good enough. But, it gets worse when you see that two strikes have come from corners and the other was a penalty.

Finding someone who can stick the ball in the back of the net is the most difficult thing in football but it's what Birmingham need to do.

In fairness, when fit and firing, the potential partnership between Lukas Jutkiewicz and Scott Hogan could be impressive at this level but more is needed as you can't rely on two men over the course of a challenging campaign.

With Sanchez, the exciting Jeremie Bela, Dan Crowley and Riley McGree in the squad, creating chances shouldn't be a problem either but it's no use if those opportunities aren't going to be finished off.

The early season signs should have Birmingham City fans cautiously optimistic about their chances but one more attacking addition before the deadline could make them much more confident.

In an unpredictable league, there's nothing stopping Blues becoming the surprise package under their proven manager if they secure the right late deal.