Birmingham City stormed to a 2-1 win over Bristol City at the weekend and overtook the Robins in the standings to rise to 18th in the process.

The Blues though would arguably like to be much higher up the table and despite having plenty of time left to clamber towards the top half of the division, Lee Bowyer has admitted to Birmingham World that he is 'frustrated' over the club's injury issues and where they may have been in the league had they not suffered so much.

They're currently ten points off 12th place and a spot in the top half of the division. In fact, they're closer to the play-off spots than the relegation ones right now. However, they are still lingering near the bottom of the division and it has largely been down to injuries to key players.

Lee Bowyer has shown plenty of promise as manager at St Andrew's since he took over but due to injuries across the field, he has had to work with his hands tied behind his back at times. With a number of key players back in the squad for the game against Bristol City though, the Blues secured a valuable 2-1 win.

With goals from Tahith Chong and Nico Gordon, it was a nice afternoon in the end for Birmingham - but also showed the importance of keeping their most important players fit. Chong, for example, had looked lively in the first half of the season until an injury ruled him out for months. Now back in the side, he was immediately back on the scoresheet.

It led to boss Lee Bowyer admitting to Birmingham World that he has been 'frustrated' at thinking about how well his team could have done had they not had so many players sidelined.

He said: "It just shows what sort of season we might have had without all the injuries. We are a good side, but we have not been able to show it often enough because of all the team changes.

"That drives me crazy. Tahith has been out for four-and-half months. He was our most creative player before his injury and today, despite being rusty, he has scored and played well.

"Overall, I am very pleased, just frustrated at what we might have achieved with a fully-fit squad."

The Verdict

Lee Bowyer is arguably right about Birmingham. Granted, this is a one off result against Bristol City and they could go on to lose next time out against Hull but there is no question that they have suffered with injuries.

The manager has certainly had to work with a restricted squad selection every week, with the Blues having so much of an injury crisis at the back that they have had to turn to free agents in search of bodies. With some players now returning though, this has eased slightly.

They do have talent in their squad and they'll be disappointed to have not seen as much of Tahith Chong as they would have liked. With the forward only on loan from Man United, supporters will be unhappy to have seen such an exciting player miss such a large part of the season.

All the club can do now though is get as many players fit as possible and have a good go at it to end the season.