Coventry's Ben Turner is backing Birmingham City to win promotion

Feb 23 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

BEN Turner, who helped bring about the downfall of his boyhood club Blues, has told fans to keep the faith because Alex McLeish’s side remain a good bet for promotion.

The emerging Coventry City defender said that despite Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at the Ricoh Arena, Blues should not be ruled out of the Championship shake-down.

Turner, 20, was a St Andrew’s season-ticket holder when Blues first reached the Premier League.

From Yardley, his family are Blues’ supporters and he is all too familiar with the highs and lows that go with following the club.

“I don’t see why Birmingham can’t go up,” the centre-half said.

“We beat them but they’ve got a strong squad and they’ve got players who, if they pull together and just take these things as blips and don’t let them become any bigger, then they should stay up there.

“The saving grace is that Wolves haven’t been winning, nor Reading.

“No-one up there has been taking points regularly because it’s been getting tense and nervy. It was similar to how Bristol City were last season. You get up there, and then you are there to be shot at.

“Teams likes ourselves, we want to beat sides like Birmingham and Wolves to get into the top half. We’re really motivated.

“Birmingham have got a lot of experience, players who have been in the Premiership and got promoted before, so I think they should be all right.”

Turner and his brother Ryan were regular Blues watchers as was their father, Ian, before he became disillusioned. He told his sons that ‘Blues would break your hearts’.