Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has demanded a strong finish to the season from the Blues as they face the daunting task of defeating Liverpool at the weekend. A win will boost their survival chances as they currently sit in the relegation zone.

"It's now come down to a three-game league," he said.

"I said that to the players immediately after the Villa game in the dressing room.

"I told them they had to move on. That's not lessening the result against Villa and how we all felt. We all wanted to do a lot better against Villa.

"But our season comes down to the next three games. At some stage in the Premier League season the gulf between teams will become evident.

"We have shown time and time again our resilience in the way we have bounced back. We have a proven record of doing that on more than one occasion since I came here."