Birmingham City have had a shocking second-half of the Championship season, and it's safe to say Gianfranco Zola still has plenty of work to do if he's to stop his side from getting relegated at the end of the season.

In what has been arguably his toughest period in management, former Watford boss Zola has led the club from potential play-off hopefuls to relegation candidates in a matter of months, which hasn't gone down at all well with supporters down at St Andrews.

Whilst the 0-0 with Newcastle went some way as to addressing some of the drop-zone fears we've seen developing over the past couple of months, points are still there to be won and Blues need to make sure they are picking up as many as possible between now and the end of the season.

But one bright spark in what has been a seriously disappointing campaign has been the £1m arrival of a certain Malian youngster in Cheick Keita.

The former Serie B man has come into the Blues first-team and made a real impression, despite missing a handful of games in recent weeks because of an injury.

Zola promised attacking, fluid football when he first took over at St Andrews and Keita has certainly turned out to be a player that has these attributes by the bucket-load, and it's been good for the Blues faithful to have an encouraging young player to get behind in what have been tough times.

Of course, he has certain things he needs to work on in his game still but going forward, he's shown some real promise.

Many have touted him to one-day be converted into more of a left-winger than a full-back but as his game grows, we'll see whether he's up to sticking as a defender or whether he's more useful as an attacking outlet.

But right now, he's a raw talent that at times, has really helped lift a rather sombre move around St Andrews.

Possibly the best thing Gianfranco Zola has or ever will bring to the club.