Birmingham City’s Marc Roberts has claimed that the new style of football brought in by Pep Clotet is magical to watch from central defence.

After doing his job in helping to keep a clean sheet in City’s last Championship clash with Blackburn Rovers, the defender talked about the enjoyment he gets out of watching the football at the other end of the pitch. Specifically, the move that lead to Maxime Colin handing the Blues a 1-0 victory on home turf.

Speaking to Bluestv, Roberts said: “It’s lovely [to watch]. We know we’ve got the players in there and sometimes it’s nice just to watch the ball go and watch a bit of magic happen.

“We’ve got players that can make stuff like that happen. I’m not sure why Max was that high up in the pitch, but thankfully, he was.”

Last season, Roberts managed just eight appearances in the Championship. This season, he already has 12 to his name and has become a crucial part of Clotet’s team.

He is establishing himself as a firm fan favourite and one of the first names on the team sheet after keeping his fourth clean sheet of the season already. Driving this success, Roberts claims, is the formidable atmosphere created by the fans at St Andrew's.

The Blues have won four of their last five games in front of their home support, a stat that Roberts knows isn’t just a coincidence.

He said: “No one will enjoy playing in front of our fans when we’re playing like that. It’s intimidating and the fans get behind us when we are on the front foot. No one will enjoy playing here.”

The verdict

Roberts is right. St Andrew’s is and always has been a tough place to go and the fans certainly play their part in that. If Birmingham stand any chance of making the play-offs, it will be because of their home form.

The centre back has been a revelation this season and deserves his spot in the starting line-up. Against Blackburn, he was immense and snuffed out any danger that came his way.