Birmingham City are back in the bottom three following a 1-0 home defeat to local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Bolton Wanderers moving ahead of the struggling Blues on goal difference.

Leo Bonatini’s eighth minute striker settled affairs at St Andrew’s, with the hosts failing to register a shot on target across the course of the ninety minutes.

The Blues struggled to match their far-superior opponents at times, and despite Wolves playing their worst football in weeks, Steve Cotterill’s side failed to break down the league leaders.

A late red card for central defender Harlee Dean means the former Brentford man will miss Saturday’s trip to Fulham, leaving Cotterill with a selection headache ahead of the must-win tie.

Despite defeat, the former Nottingham Forest manager remained upbeat, claiming his side did enough to earn something from the game.

“I thought our second-half performance warranted something out of the game,” Cotterill told the club’s official site.

“I looked at their (Wolves’) technical area in the second-half and I think we had them on the ropes for a little while.

“We just didn’t have the knock-out punch that we needed.

“We’ve got to carry on working hard and when we do that those things will go right for us.”

The Verdict

Another defeat for the Blues, and relegation appears to be a more likely outcome with every passing week.

The performance of summer record-signing Jota was nothing short of woeful, with Blues fans wondering why former management opted to part with such a large sum of money to secure the player’s signature.

Cotterill has spouted the same excuse every week, and things must turn around quickly if the club are to begin to move away from the bottom three in the coming weeks.

It won’t be long before fans begin to turn on players and the manager, and although the winning formula is in reach, Cotterill just cannot seem to find the right concoction within his squad.

Blues fans, what needs to change for your club to start picking up points? Have your say below...