Bruce blames lack of self-belief

BRUCE'S VIEW Arsenal 3-0 Birmingham

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce admitted his side had not pushed Arsenal hard enough in their 3-0 defeat at Highbury.

"We never had that cutting edge or the real sense of belief you need when you're on a run like we are," Bruce told BBC Sport.

"We felt that playing one striker and one behind would cause a few problems and frustrate them a little bit.

"And for large periods that's what happened. It just hasn't quite gone for us yet."

Birmingham have struggled for goals this season and find themselves in 15th place in the Premiership table.

"It's tough - we have to roll our sleeves up and work hard," said Bruce.

"I'm still convinced that the players we brought in will help us but we obviously have to pick up a few results. We're now getting up to Christmas and we've got a few games coming up which are vital to us."