Blues are back on home soil when they entertain in-form Swansea City on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off).
And whilst Chris Davies is maintaining a sense of perspective, after the string of recent results the team go into the Championship match at St. Andrew’s searching for answers.
The primary issue is the lack of firepower and converting Blues possession and final third entries into tangible rewards – goals.
Defensively, Blues are as sound as any team. They have allowed the fewest shots against in the Championship.
At the other end, they have only had eight attempts on target, the third lowest tally in the league.
Davies admitted: “We haven’t looked as potent as I want us to be and dangerous with the possession that we’ve had.
“I do think that’s going to come around through a combination of things basically.
“I think we need to find a little bit more unpredictability in our attacks so we can get into more dangerous positions more often and be harder for the opposition to sort of stop when we arrive in the final third.
“And then the players, I think some of our attacking players are just a little bit tense when they do get around the box, maybe choosing to turn back if they could go one on one or choosing to pass instead of shooting.
“So, yes, that’s something we’ve spoken about. It’s not something that we need to sort of shy away from at all. It’s something to embrace.
“But it’s not something I’m not too worried about. I mean, there was a chance in the first-half (at Stoke City). that Jay Stansfield shot and Lowell makes a really good block.
“Now that wiggles through and the ‘keeper saves it and then Stoke themselves had I think two shots on target, or something like that.
“So there wasn’t much in it. But, you know, it’s fair to say our attacking play has been not good enough in the two games to get results. And that’s what’s ultimately cost us the two games (Stoke and Leicester City).
“But I’m not worried, because I think that will click as we go along. And again, it’s a challenge for me and for us to try to make sure that we are more dangerous with the ball.”
In training at the Henley-in-Arden first team HQ, Blues have been beavering away on their attacking combinations and finishing.
In his pre-match press conference, it was put to Davies that Blues didn’t get enough shots off at goal – the old if you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win the lottery – which he accepted.
But it is also a case of not making too big an issue of these travails and ‘overthinking it’, despite three blanks in the last three league and cup outings, which all ended in defeat. And Blues cannot shift away from their stock in trade.
“I think you’ve got to give the players real meaningful things to work on,” said Davies.
“So work on the system, work on the movements, work on the timings, the combinations that they actually can practice things, give them plenty of chances around the box, around the goal in training to execute and build their confidence level.
“And it all comes down to training, because that’s where your confidence is ultimately built. And working hard on the training pitch, there is really no other way to do it.
“So we’ve been doing that a lot this week. But what I don’t want to do is focus everything on that and lose what is a really solid base.
“I think I’d much rather have a solid base – which I believe we’ve got – and try and now add in more goals than have it the other way around where your team, you’d say, look like they can’t defend every time the opposition comes forward. I think that is a much more of a slippery slope as a team.
“So we’ve got a solid base. What we need to do is get the ball into more dangerous positions more often, and – the point alluded to – get more shots off around the goal.
“We will continue to develop our attacking play around how we can become more unpredictable for the opposition, get our most dangerous players on the ball more and quicken up our attacks in the final third.
“The build-up, the first two-thirds, has been very strong. Against every opposition we’ve had we’ve worked the ball to final third well, we’ve had more touches in the opposition box than Leicester, probably Stoke as well, but it’s those final combinations and quality that are missing at the moment.
“We will score more that can get us some wins. And set-pieces is something that we’re continually working on as well to see if we can win a game off a set-piece, like Stoke did.”
Swansea are on a good run at present, unbeaten in seven games.
They came from behind in thrilling fashion with two added-time goals to defeat Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
They are similar to Blues, though, in that they prefer to dominate possession and are solid defensively, but they do not create a great deal.
Swansea are also buoyed by a takeover last November which saw Luka Modric and Snoop Dogg get on board as minority stakeholders.
They spent around £15 million in the summer window, a sum more than any other since Premier League relegation in 2018, and many observers rated it their best ever, as it strengthened needs across all areas of the squad.
The headline signing was £6 million Adam Idah, from Celtic, and another deadline day acquisition Manuel Benson, on loan from Burnley, caught the eye.
Swansea – again, like Blues – brought in 12 players and there were 17 departures, including coveted centre-half Harry Darling on a free to Norwich City, a player Davies liked.
Head coach Alan Sheehan, who made six changes to his side in midweek for the cup, is embracing the increased expectation around his side now.
Swansea finished 11th last season and have not been Play-Off contenders for the last four years.
Speaking after the Third Round upset, he said: “I’m not one to put water on the fire – I’m probably more a guy who puts petrol on it.
“I’m not going to dampen what people want to believe because I won’t shy away from it. We want to improve on last year. We’re building something, I do believe that.”
For Blues personnel-wise, Willum Willumsson and Keshi Anderson are out injured until at least the next international break.
Davies could give Marvin Ducksch his first Championship start and Jack Robinson could also come in to the manager’s thoughts.
Ducksch injured his calf in pre-season before his transfer from Werder Bremen.
Davies commented: “From a fitness perspective, he’s in a good position now. He’s shown glimpses of what he can do in the games that he’s played.
“He’s different because he’s a bigger presence, he links the game, he’s quite intelligent, and he’s got a goal in his locker as well. Hopefully we can start to utilise him more.”
Davies added: “Whoever plays, I want to make sure they look like us. We are at home. We want that aggression, that really proactive style of play that has served us so well. That’s what we’re hoping to do on the weekend.”
