Alex McLeish admitted Birmingham are now playing for second place in the Coca-Cola Championship after Easter Monday's round of fixtures saw them slip six points adrift of leaders Wolves with three games remaining.
Ten-man Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by plucky Plymouth at St Andrews in an encounter full of incident, while Mick McCarthy's men claimed a dramatic 3-2 triumph at Derby.
Asked whether Blues were battling for second now, McLeish said: "I think realistically yes. But we'll keep going, we've got to go to Watford and win and try and win the rest of our games."
He added: "But if the league finished today, with us second, then I think we'll be quite happy."
"I'm proud of the players, I'm really proud of them.
"Their efforts, their spirit, their heart, the fire in their belly, they were absolutely knackered."
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