Mark: On paper Birmingham have a side capable of competing for a UEFA Cup place so what do you think has gone wrong so far this season?

Kym: To give a smart answer to this one - our team look good on paper, but put them on grass and it's another matter entirely! Seriously though.... There has been huge debate about our performance on the region's footy forums, and if someone could come up with a sure-fire solution, I'm sure they would be instantly offered a place on the coaching staff. We have been severely hit with injuries, particularly in midfield, and at points have only had two fit central midfielders, which makes picking the team easy but is a nightmare in terms of having to just throw in the only available people. The ones most sorely missed have been David Dunn, Muzzy Izzet and Mehdi Nafti. Although we now have a lot of players returning to fitness, we are aware that we are in danger of getting cut adrift in the drop zone and we need results quickly. Birmingham fans are at the moment fairly evenly divided as to whether Steve Bruce should stay or go. The detractors point out that we have been underachieving for the past eighteen months and he seems to be tactically naive. The pro-Bruce brigade feel that we would fare no better without him, and that he is a good man-manager and well-connected in terms of the people he is capable of bringing into the side. The jury's still out....

Mark: Goalscoring has been a problem for the Blues during the Autumn with Emile Heskey, Walter Pandiani and Mikael Forssell scoring only three times between them. Is another striker on the agenda in the January window or should Steve Bruce keep the faith with those three?

Kym: Goalscoring - oh dearie me, which joke do you want first? Can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo (Brummie expression, sorry), couldn't score in a brothel, couldn't hit a barn door from three paces..... etc. Scoring has become a sort of search for a Holy Grail that our front line seem to have lost the map for. Maybe we shouldn't have sold on Clinton Morrison and Robbie Blake before we had bought in a fourth striker; having only three leaves us sparse, particularly as one had no pre-season and the other is still recovering from major injury and is lacking confidence. Emile Heskey is a great player, but he needs someone to play off; he is excellent in the air and at holding up the ball for another player to work from - witness his albeit brief partnership with Clinton Morrison in the middle of last season. Blues supporters are hoping feverishly that Pandiani and Forssell find some form (although Forssell is yet another on the injury list at the moment with a thigh strain), but with Dunn's return now really imminent, maybe he can find the net when others haven't. Jarosik is probably the surprise package though - he has proved he is capable of the long-distance screamers that opposing defences simply can't legislate for. Yes, we do need a striker in January, although it may be that we need a left back and another central defender more. A good young striker from the Championship might be the answer at this stage, as there is not likely to be a huge amount of money available, unless somehow we can fulfil my own fantasy footy dream of seeing Robbie Keane in a Blues shirt.

Mark: Bolton have never found it easy at St Andrews in recent times, with just one win in the last ten years. What type of game are you expecting when the two sides meet on Monday evening?

Kym: What sort of game are we expecting? A hard one, to be honest. Bolton are a very physical side and the standing joke is always that they won't need a ball for the first 30 minutes. Big Sam has moulded a team of tough, tough players in his own image, and they go into every game with the expectation of a decent result, and they are having a good season so far. Bolton are meeting up with a Birmingham side that has been physically and mentally battered, and is low in confidence. This Bluenose would be happy with a draw, to be honest, although if we are somehow handed a 1-0 win on a plate, I will be bloody ecstatic. However, we have to stop Kevin Nolan scoring first, as he is on one hell of a run at the moment.

Mark: Neil Kilkenny has adapted well to first team duty at Birmingham following a successful spell out on loan at Oldham last season. Can we expect more to come from him in the coming years?

Kym: Neil Kilkenny has been an utter revelation. OK, his first appearance was marred with a little impromptu goalkeeping(!) but aside from that, he has adapted remarkably quickly to the rigours of the Premiership. He looks like a little lad on the pitch, but hey, size has never stopped SWP being a great player! He is quick, wants the ball constantly and plays with the confidence that belies the fact that he is still a teenager. Blues fans have taken him to their hearts very quickly, and he has been one of the bright sparks that has stood out in our otherwise miserable start to this season. He could go far if he continues to applies himself to the game in this way.

Mark: Where do you think the Blues will finish this season and what are your expectations for here on in?

Kym: At the start of the season, I would have been looking for a finish in 10th-12th place. Now survival has got to be the first consideration, and anything above 17th will be accepted with huge relief, but hand on heart, I think we deserve more than that. As to the expectations for the future, we are having a really major wobble at the moment, and the fans range from being scared, to being plain hacked off, and first and foremost want to see us scoop up enough points to ensure that we are still in the top flight next season. Would I want to see Birmingham pushing for a European place? I really don't know, and I realise that my view might well be in the minority. I would hate to see us over-achieve, spend millions on extra players and then do the sort of embarrassing nose-dive that Everton have just done. They may well survive in the Prem this season, but their exit from Europe was nothing short of embarrassing and I would rather see my team secure in mid-table with a reasonable run in one of the domestic cups than being subjected to that. In any case, the only teams that perform really well in Europe are those that can in effect, field a double squad. Those that don't get plagued with injuries and. well... knackered, quite frankly!

Having said that, the best of luck to Bolton in their European endeavours, but may the curse of St Andrew's hover over the away dressing room tonight for a change!

Many thanks to Kym and James Brown of Keep Right On (www.keeprighton.co.uk)for taking time out to conduct this interview at such short notice. Kym is a regular and accomplished writer for a number of unofficial Birmingham City publications including the Made In Brum fanzine, BBC Midlands and Vbbfootball.com so it's recommended that any staunch Blues supporter should check out her work.

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