Half-Term Report: Birmingham

If there were an award for manager of the half-season, Steve Bruce would be a front-runner. When he arrived 54 weeks ago, Birmingham stood 10th in the First Division. Now, just six more wins would virtually guarantee top-flight survival. He has been brave, bordering on ruthless, in reshaping the team inherited from Trevor Francis. Nor will he rest on his laurels, having plans to bring in two players until the end of the season. One will be a striker – probably Christophe Dugarry – because they average barely a goal per game. The trick will be to upgrade the squad while maintaining their trademark compactness, in which respect Bruce's shrewdness in snapping up Robbie Savage and Aliou Cissé bodes well. One caveat: they lead the indiscipline table, a tendency they must curb if they are to emerge from some brutish fixtures still respectably placed.