Danns Welcomes The Pressure

Neil Danns has welcomed the added pressure that comes with Blues being favourites to bounce straight back up.

'It's nice to play with pressure, I prefer it that way, it gives you that incentive to work harder to make sure you don't let people down.

'It will be different to what I was used to at Colchester United. Not being a big or glamorous club, teams used to turn up and just think they could roll us over easily. We were underestimated but that's not going to happen at Birmingham, there's a different challenge for me.

'For a lot of teams, playing us will be like a cup final, everyone will try extra hard to beat us. That's OK, you just have to deal with it and it should spur you on, not make you worried.

'I think we're capable of getting promotion, the manager has brought in some young, exciting players who are prepared to work hard and that's a big thing these days.

'For people like myself, Cameron Jerome, Stephen Kelly, we have a great opportunity at Birmingham and we're hungry to do well.

'There are already some good youngsters at Birmingham, but quality experienced players as well. I think the manager's got the right blend.

'I'm sure we are going to play with energy and enthusiasm and we will have a massive chance of going up.'

Despite the optimism, Danns doesn't expect to walk straight into the Blues team and expects competition to be hard.

'I've got to work hard to earn my place and I'm prepared to do that, I'm always confident of scoring goals. I keep making runs and tend to get into the right positions.

'As a youngster I used to play up front. I was top scorer for Blackburn Rovers when we reached the FA Youth Cup final and at Colchester, including my first season, I scored 28 goals in 82 starts.

'I've always had it in me, that knack to get into the right place at the right time. But if I don't get a chance, then I'm also able to look for other players.'

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