Birmingham City manager Chris Hughton has said that he had the opportunity to finish in the play-offs this season, but are facing a tough run of fixtures.

Birmingham City have the chance to secure their place in the play-off positions, which will guarantee them the opportunity to fight for a place in the Premier league next season.

However, they will be facing the likes of West Ham in the remaining matches, and Chris Hughton considers that Birmingham City do have a tough fixture list in the final few matches of the season. Birmingham City now need a point from their remaining two matches in order to secure their play-off position. The latest football odds make them firm favourites to qualify.

Even though it is highly unlikely that they will be able to throw away such a good position, Chris Hughton has warned his players against complacency.

Birmingham City went into the match against Ipswich town without a number of first-team players, but were unable to get a credible draw against the side from Portman road. They have also lost Steven Caldwell to injury in the first half, which only complicated matters for Chris Hughton. They now trail West Ham by eight points with only two matches remaining.

They will be facing Barnsley in the next match followed by leaders Reading on the final day of the Championship season.

“We are close, but we have got to play two very, very tough games,” said Hughton. “They don’t come as tough as Brighton away – irrespective of their recent form – and Reading at home. But I am desperate for this group of boys to get over the line. They have been excellent all season. They deserve it, for the amount of games they’ve played and the spirit they’ve shown,” Hughton said after the 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town.

English First Division club side Birmingham City Football Club striker Marlon King has been banned from driving indefinitely after he was caught speeding at 130 miles per hour in his Mercedes.

The 31 year old former Leeds United striker was caught by cops as he was speeding along the Midlands Highway at double the speed limit permissible for that region.

The temperamental striker was disqualified for 56 days after he was found guilty of speeding charges and not only that, he has also been fined £ 1,600 in the case at the Hinckley Magistrates Court.

Although King did not show up for the trial, the judge at the Hinckley Magistrates Court passed the verdict in his absence and the player will be officially notified once the paperwork is done.

The offence that took place on the morning of 5th August, 2011 sees the Birmingham City Football Club striker driving his Mercedes at speeds varying between 103 and 130 miles per hour for a 4 mile stretch along the M69 Motorway, situated in Huncote in the heart of Leicestershire.

This is, however, not the first time that Marlon King has found himself in trouble with the law and he has as many as 14 convictions excluding this recent one already in his name. After his switch to St. Andrew’s at the start of the season, many people believed that a fresh start will help him get straight a little bit but that has not happened, yet. Thankfully he HAS managed to do the right things on the field, helping Birmingham to rise up the table, and become a top tip of some of the best football betting websites.

King has been somewhat of a journeyman striker throughout his career, having played for big name clubs such as Leeds United, Hull City, Watford and Nottingham Forest before making the move to Birmingham City Football Club at the start of the season. Although he has not the best of seasons with The Blues, a change of lifestyle could still help him prolong his career.

Birmingham City youngster Nathan Redmond has said that the superior fitness of the team is certainly responsible for them to find a number of late goals this season.

Birmingham City have become the Manchester United of the Championship after finding a way to success in the last few minutes of the match.

It was once again the case during the weekend when they managed to beat Portsmouth in the 86th minute through goal from 17-year-old youngster Nathan Redmond.

Following the match, the youngster spoke of the highly involving training methods used by the coaching staff and also the incredible fitness they have within the squad as being the chief items responsible for bringing out the best of them during the closing minutes of the match.

Apart from Portsmouth, Birmingham city have also denied Ipswich and Doncaster over the last few weeks. As a result of these crucial late goals, Birmingham city have now risen to the third position in the table, which looked almost impossible at the start of the season when they were plagued by many financial problems. Even though the financial problems have not dissipated a lot, the amazing response from the squad at Birmingham City is truly remarkable.

“It’s definitely a fitness thing, the staff have been superb with us having Europe and playing more games than most teams. We’ve a really tight squad, that’s why the gaffer didn’t really bring anyone in and tried not to let too many people go. That’s just what we do here at St Andrew’s, a lot of late winners,” Nathan Redmond told the BBC.

Birmingham now face Reading in the FA Cup with the latest FA Cup betting putting them as slim favourites to progress.

If Birmingham City carry on with this incredible run, it will not be long before they catch Southampton in the automatic promotion spot. West Ham United currently leads the table with 56 points to Birmingham city’s 52 points.

Former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell was at the centre of other controversy after he criticised the female match officials.

Andy Gray was one of the last high-profile names to be charged with the sexism row, and Paul Jewell has become the latest one to be embroiled in this situation.

The criticism from Paul Jewell came after the 2-1 defeat Ipswich town suffered at the hands of Birmingham City, a result that leaves Ipswich town just two places above the relegation zone heading into the weekend’s match against Blackpool. Ipswich town were coming on the back of a poor run of form, which has seen the side drop alarmingly low down the table. The latest football betting online markets now place Ipswich as one of the favourites to go down.

Nikola Zigic opened the scoring for Birmingham City as early as in the ninth minute. However, Lee Martin helped Ipswich back onto level terms in the match when he scored in the 18th minute. After that, it was a game of cat and mouse, as both teams tried to take the lead with failure.

However, in the final few minutes of the match, Nikola Zigic stepped up to score a winning second goal. Ipswich then went into all-out-attack mode, and had a penalty appeal turned down, sparking a rage of anger in the Ipswich town boss, who later criticised the match officials – most particularly the assistant referee Amy Fearn.

“I think everyone to a man thought it was a penalty. Unfortunately to every man, but not a woman. Although the referee didn’t have a good view, I thought the lineswoman, or whatever she’s called, had a great view” Jewell said after the match. “It wasn’t given, and you know the rest.”

Probably better off having a bet on Norwich rather than Ipswich right now then (sorry tractor boys…!)

Jack Butland is the new name that is being whispered on the mouths of the fans of Birmingham City. This 18 year old lad has shown quite some skill on the training ground and has been selected by Chris Hughton to make his debut for Birmingham City very soon.

Jack has shown immense skills since his return from his loan spell at Cheltenham Town – a spell which has seen him become hot property in the January transfer window by other lower league football clubs keen to use his talent.

Manager Chris Hughton is confident that Butland will probably go out on a loan again once the windows open up as plenty of clubs want to sign a talented young goalkeeper.

Until then, Hughton is keen on keeping the young goalie at the club to see whether he can perform well enough to fight for the first-team spot, and prove to the fans that Birmingham are worth placing Championship bets on!

Having such young and talented players will help the team grow in the long run, and Hughton seems ready to gamble on some of the younger players in his squad, knowing that it could be beneficial for the team as well as players like Jack’s career.

Having personally seen him performing in the Under 21s with immense skill and technique, Hughton hopes Butland can improve further by taking part in the more intense training sessions of the first-team.

There is no hard and fast decision on Butland’s future – whether he continues to play for the reserves or heads out on loan again to somewhere like Tranmere Rovers – but one thing is for sure, Birmingham have an immense talent on their hands.