Gary McSheffrey has arguably been Birmingham's most consistent performer since his protracted £4m move from Coventry. The Sky Blues rejected a series of bids before they finally succumbed and allowed McSheffrey to make the short trip up the M6. He managed to bag his first league goal for the club against Leicester last Saturday and has already become a favourite with the St Andrew’s faithful. Givemefootball's Ian Clarkson caught up with McSheffrey to discuss his impact at Birmingham and how he has coped with the large price tag.
Q:BIRMINGHAM PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR YOU – HOW ARE YOU COPING WITH A £4M PRICE TAG ON YOUR SHOULDERS?
A:You feel a bit of pressure but it's out of my hands. You go on the pitch and you forget things. You could have problems at home but you get on the pitch and forget them. People could say 'is he worth it, is he not?' but I'm not bothered. It wasn't me that did the deal. I am just here and enjoying my football. I am happy. I've played every minute of every game I've been involved in. It's nice the management and staff trust you and play you.
Q:NICKLAS BENDTNER HAS MADE A REAL IMPACT SINCE ARRIVING ON LOAN FROM ARSENAL – WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF HIM?
A:He is a good player. He is scoring goals, scoring international goals and, the way he is doing at the moment, I think Arsenal will want him back in January. That would definitely be our loss. We would have to deal with it but we've just got to hope he can stay because he is a quality player. His self-confidence is good and on his day in this league there is not much better. He is a great prospect and at the age of 18 he has got a good career ahead of him. He is learning his trade here, becoming a man and, playing against grown adults as opposed to youth and reserve football. I think he is thriving on the situation and hopefully we can have him for the season.
Q:EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE SECOND IN THE TABLE IT IS THREE GAMES WITHOUT A WIN NOW ISN'T IT?
A:At the minute Cardiff are scoring three or four goals and punishing teams and we've got to get a bit more of a ruthless streak about is. It will come. No-one goes through 46 games in this league without having a blip and we've had a three game blip now where we haven't won. But we've drawn two, not lost them. They could be good points at the end of the season. I just think with a little change of luck we will go on a good run.
Q:WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE DRAW WITH LEICESTER LAST WEEKEND?
A:It just shows you've got to get that second goal. We've had a few chances and their keeper has had a great game. He made four or five top drawer saves. It just goes to show what happens if you switch off for one second. They had one chance and it has gone in the net so we are devastated. We can't change it. It was a game we should have won comfortably and we are gutted. The goalkeeper has made some great saves, we've missed some sitters and their defender has made a great block from Bendtner. We will have worse games and win. Anyone beats anyone in this league and Leicester have got a good draw after a good draw at Sunderland. They are a team that never says die and they got their rewards in the end.
Q:WHAT DID STEVE BRUCE SAY AFTER THE MATCH?
A:He said we were close to a near perfect performance. We've just got to stick the second and third in and teams will be finished off earlier. Leicester weren't carving us open at all and we looked solid. We had two solid unites of four and the front two worked hard. Had we won 3-0, it would have been a worthy scoreline. We went 1-0 up and the approach after their 'keeper had made a few saves was to sit back and soak up pressure and defend for our lives.
