Blues striker plays down relegation fight fears

Nov 5 2007 By Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

GARRY O'Connor said he was confident Blues would not be mired in a relegation battle all season.

Blues have lost four of their last five Premier League matches, with Everton's two-goal salvo in stoppage time leaving a bitter taste.

"Definitely, we should be higher up the league," said the striker. "Stupid mistakes have cost us in games.

"We have been unfortunate and lost late goals. But I think we will stay in this league, for sure.

"I think we are good enough to challenge in the top half, from what I've seen in the Premier League so far."

O'Connor said Blues should have shut up shop after equalising at Goodison Park.

"When we went 1-1, in our minds we felt we could have won the game. Maybe we should just have tried to take the ball into the corners and do the sensible thing.

"To go away with a 1-1 draw at a hard place like Everton would have been a good thing.

"We should have cleared the ball up the pitch in the first place (for Lee Carsley's goal).

"Lump it up the pitch and be a bit more professional, then we would have got a draw. It was a bit depressing and we need to start picking points up."