BLUES are not quite staring down the barrel of a gun, there are others still in the firing line.

But their Premier League status is anything but bullet-proof after the most horrendous of St Andrew’s afternoons.

In a game that was simply must-win, Blues floundered shockingly and so took their scramble to avoid relegation to the final Sunday of the season.

They now have to get a result at Spurs that’s better than those battling around them. Basically, a victory is required to be sure – just like yesterday.

The way they shakily flailed about against Fulham, and are losing players to injury – they finished with ten men – it will be the most stringent test of ability, mettle and resources available at White Hart Lane.

Facing pressure is not something unusual for Blues.

On the four occasions this season that they have gone into the relegation zone, the next game they have got a result to clamber out.

They are not as brittle mentally as the team that slunk from the Premier League in 2008.

But this was a different requirement altogether yesterday and they flunked it.

Results on the Saturday cranked up the importance of the match and Blues were left without Cameron Jerome, who failed a fitness test.

People can say what they like about Jerome but his power, speed and workrate have been assets the past few weeks.

He hasn’t scored goals, but who has? And where else is the pace and athleticism to at least shake defences up a bit coming from?

Throw in the suspension of Liam Ridgewell and Craig Gardner, the continual absence of Nikola Zigic – his last start was the Carling Cup final – plus Obafemi Martins and, no, it was not an easy requirement against the Cottagers, who were far superior in every department.

Since that glorious afternoon at Wembley in February, Blues have stumbled along in the league, winning two of 11 games. Injuries and fatigue certainly have taken their toll, and mistakes began to creep into their play that were punished.

Plus, Blues have not had many breaks either in the last few weeks, and they have faced teams in form, at the ‘wrong’ time. But nor have they been creative or ingenious enough.