Birmingham City begin a new era on Friday evening against Cardiff City, with Steve Cotterill taking charge of his first game since his appointment as Harry Redknapp’s successor.

Cotterill watched on in Birmingham’s last fixture, as the Blues crumbled to a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Hull City at the KCOM Stadium.

That result left Birmingham in the relegation zone, with just eight points from their opening 11 fixtures of the season.

Things are not getting any easier for Cotterill this weekend either, with Neil Warnock’s Cardiff visiting full of confidence, after an excellent two months has left the Bluebirds top of the Championship table.

Here at FLW, we take a look at Birmingham’s squad, identifying one player we believe must come into the starting XI against Cardiff on Friday.

That player is central defender Marc Roberts, who was a summer signing from Barnsley.

£2.7m-rated Roberts has been limited to just five starts in the Championship this season, with Michael Morrison and Harlee Dean Birmingham’s preferred partnership under previous regimes.

However, the duo were completely exposed against Hull in Birmingham’s last outing, and having watched events unfold that afternoon, Cotterill must seriously be considering a change in a key area of the field.

Replacing either Morrison or Dean with Roberts is one option, or reverting to a three man defensive unit is another option for Birmingham, who need to address their leaky defence.

Cotterill is bound to make changes, with Birmingham’s performance at Hull an embarrassment.

Sorting out defensive issues will be Cotterill’s first task, which is why we believe Roberts must come back into the starting XI.

Birmingham fans… Let us know your thoughts!