Birmingham City midfielder Ivan Sunjic has admitted that his side will be looking to head into the international break on a high by delivering an encouraging performance against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

After initially making a relatively positive start to the season, the Blues have experienced a dip in form in recent weeks which has resulted in them slipping to 15th in the Championship standings.

Having suffered three defeats in their last four league games, Birmingham will be hoping to get their season back on track this weekend.

An underwhelming performance against Queens Park Rangers earlier this week by the Blues allowed Mark Warburton's side to seal all three points at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

Set to face a Forest outfit who will be brimming with confidence heading into this fixture following their victory over Barnsley, Birmingham know that they could be in for a tough afternoon at St Andrew's if they fail to step up to the mark.

Making reference to the club's recent run of results, Sunjic has revealed that he believes that it is important that the Blues get back to winning ways this weekend.

The midfielder also suggested that the club need to improve on their ability to press the ball.

Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Sunjic said: "It (Saturday) is an important game to get a win from, especially because we are in a bad run now, lost three, drawn one, it is not a good thing, I think.

“But we have another opportunity on Saturday, I think we can win this, then go into the international break, have a rest and then work for the next games."

The midfielder later added: "Against QPR we pressed high then because they are good on the ball they got through that press and they got straight on our back three, four or five.

 

 

“Maybe higher up the pitch if we get a little bit of a tackle, professional, you need to figure out when to do that to break it.

“Maybe I am a little bit too negative, we started really well, beat Sheff U, the Luton game was unbelievable.

"If we can get to 15 points by October, it’s good, we are off again.”

The Verdict

Whilst it is fair to say that Birmingham have not been at their best in recent weeks, it is extremely difficult to maintain consistency in the Championship as this division is famed for its competitiveness.

Blues manager Lee Bowyer will be hoping that some of his experienced players will be able to help the club seal a much-needed victory over Forest.

Whereas Sunjic has failed to replicate the display which saw him record a WhoScored match rating of 8.23 against Luton Town last month in the club's recent clashes, he clearly possesses the talent required to thrive at this level.

Therefore, by producing an eye-catching performance against Forest, the Croatian may end up becoming a mainstay in Birmingham's starting eleven for the foreseeable future.