Christoph Klarer reacts to Birmingham City situation - he’s ‘taking full responsibility’ | OneFootball

The Austrian centre-back hasn't held back on his thoughts of Blues' fortunes

Birmingham City's ambition has been laid bare for all to see, but recent performances at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park have certainly been a far cry from the standards set across the board at the club.

Heading into the final international break of the gruelling 46-game Championship season, Blues are in the midst of a run of just two wins from their past seven matches.

After previously being able to close the gap on the sides occupying a place in the play-off places at the end of February, Chris Davies saw his team's aim of reaching the top six at the end of the campaign effectively ended by Derby County at Pride Park.

Although the scoreline in DE24 represented a one-goal game, which was scored by Rhian Brewster after 43 minutes - with criticism coming the way of Birmingham goalkeeper, James Beadle, for his inability to deny the forward's header - it was far from that.

Davies had opted to move away from his tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation which has yielded mixed results at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park and away from the West Midlands, instead utilising a 3-4-3 shape against John Eustace's Rams.

However, Blues only mustered a total of three shots over the course of the 90-plus minutes, with none of those testing Richard O'Donnell in the Derby net, as well as having just 10 touches inside their opponents' box.

It represented a 12th defeat in 20 Championship matches on the road this season. A total of just 18 points from a possible 60 away from B9 hardly mirrors their largely impressive home form, and it has certainly held Blues back in a play-off push.

As such, club captain, Christoph Klarer, has issued a frank assessment of his side's recent performance levels ahead of the season's final seven matches.

Christoph Klarer issues brutally honest Birmingham City message as play-off hopes fade

Klarer has been a crucial figure at the heart of Birmingham's defence since his arrival from SV Darmstadt last summer, with the ex-Southampton man impressing in both League One and the Championship in terms of his individual performances.

The 25-year-old Austrian was often an on-pitch captain for Blues last term, and was handed the armband permanently following Krystian Bielik's exit to West Bromwich Albion in August before penning a fresh contract in November.

So far this season, the centre-back has played in 36 of the 39 rounds of Championship fixtures, with his three-game absence at the turn of the year coming after a red card in the reverse fixture against Derby on Boxing Day.

With Blues' inconsistent form now leaving them 10 points behind the play-offs with seven games to go, pressure has only increased on Davies' shoulders, with some calling for Knighthead to make sack calls either as soon as possible or at the season's end.

However, Blues' official Instagram account has now posted a passionate message from Klarer, who has taken his portion of the blame head on.

"We need to keep demanding of each other, lead by example, do the basics right and have a good week on the training pitch," the Blues captain said.

"As captain I take full responsibility and say we weren't good enough."

Birmingham City will hope to end the season with some momentum despite failed play-off gamble

After an inconsistent first half of the campaign, Blues certainly put a lot of faith in a successful January window, which saw several fringe players depart and a handful of more big-name signings come to the Second City, such as Kai Wagner, Jhon Solis, Ibrahim Osman, Carlos Vicente and August Priske.

However, it is a gamble which is yet to pay off, meaning the final weeks of the current season will be about restoring momentum and taking it into a crucial off-season and pre-season for the club, given their ambitions.