Cotterill Pays For Blues Slump

Axe falls following fifth loss in a row.

- John Brindley

STEVE Cotterill was a mixture of fighting talk and semi-resignation after a defeat that summed up Birmingham’s season. Little did he know the writing was on the wall.

Less than two hours after an earnest Birmingham effort was undone by a goalkeeping error from David Stockdale and the lack of a genuine goalscorer, the Blues board acted and sacked Cotterill following a fifth straight league defeat.

Michael Morrison’s towering 87th-minute header wasn’t enough to claw back the damage done by Forest goals from Joe Lolley and Matty Cash, or to save Cotterill from his fate.

After the match, but before he had learned of his sacking, Cotterill refused to blame his players – and had a mild dig at the board for failing to strengthen his hand during the January transfer window.