Birmingham City fans have taken to Carlos Costly
"If fans see players not running or not trying when they make a mistake, that's when they get derision, and deservedly so. Carlos is well aware of that, and he is always working hard and chasing down.
"And he plays for a Honduran national team who are quite tough cookies."
The manager reminded that Costly had spent more than a month inactive due to the winter break in Poland. Andrei Arshavin has been playing catch-up too since moving to England from Russia.
"I think we should be mindful that Carlos did have a month off after November and he was getting back his fitness.
"I saw Arsene Wenger talking about Arshavin and saying he was still short of that fitness level required for the Premier League, or required for a club like Arsenal.
"Well, we are in a different scale but the same. We feel that Carlos is getting sharper with every game.
"I don't think he's going to be the quickest thing on two legs, but he knows where the goals are, where the penalty box is, he knows how to interact with other players and I believe Carlos can be a useful weapon for us these last eight games.”
