Garry Monk was under no illusions who he blamed for his side's 3-1 defeat against Derby County yesterday, claiming that his side 'beat themselves' at Pride Park.

The Blues led through a Lukas Jutkiewicz goal, but second half strikes from Mason Bennett, Harry Wilson and Jack Marriott ended Monk's eleven match unbeaten streak.

It was Birmingham's first defeat since August 22nd and ended a run of four successive victories, and Monk was firm in pointing the finger at his own dressing room for the defeat.

"I am not taking anything away from Derby, who had a really good second half - but I think we beat ourselves," he told Birmingham Live. “Especially for the moments they had for the goals. We lacked the usual high standard of concentration that we have had, in the run we have been on."

The result leaves them tenth in the table, five points behind the victorious Rams, but Monk feels they lacked the sort of concentration that has seen them surprise many pundits already this season.

“When you lack that little bit of concentration it leads to mistakes, we made mistakes for their goals that are very unusual for us and it cost us the game.”

The Blues host Hull City next Saturday, with the Blues boss hoping to go into the international break on a positive note.

“I think the next step for us is to make sure we can respond whenever we face a defeat, we haven’t had to face many this season." concluded the former Leeds manager.

The Verdict

There was always going to be a defeat in the pipeline for Birmingham, their recent form has been remarkable and something that both Monk and his players should be extremely proud of.

Few teams will finish above Derby County this season and the first half display alone gave enough encouragement for Blues fans. A win against Hull would get them back on the horse quickly and keep them on track for a play off challenge.

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