Ben Foster says Birmingham City's defensive strength should be recognised

Nov 22 2010 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

BEN Foster reckons Blues are returning to the no-frills mode of the recent past – and reaping the rewards.

After a gutsy goalless draw at Manchester City, Blues recorded an historic victory over Chelsea, shutting the double winners out in the process.

That was in no small part due to the brilliant Foster, but he says the credit should be shared around.

“I’ve not been put under as much pressure as that,” says the England goalkeeper.

“It was a major backs-to-the-wall jobbie. Second half especially was an onslaught.

“We realised the situation. They knew the score. They were attacking, we were defending, it was as simple as that. We just managed to keep them out.

“The way we can defend, you saw that last season – and the lads are starting to do it again.

“It’s what they can do, Roger Johnson, Stevie Carr, Scott Dann, Liam Ridgewell. They aren’t fancy dans where you don’t really know what you are going to get. They are just proper defenders.

“Ask them to head it away and they put their heads on it, ask them to tackle and they are putting crunching tackles in on people.

“They are coming off the pitch with their heads wrapped up in bandages, nursing bruises and all the rest of it.

“It was an important win for us. The way you go about getting the points is irrelevant to me, as long as we get the points we’re happy.”