Birmingham City boss Davies has total faith in striker Vazquez

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies says he still has total faith in striker Luis Vazquez, describing a glaring miss at Derby as a 'freak' and praising the player's resilience.

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies has reaffirmed his total faith in striker Luis Vazquez after the Argentine's glaring miss in last weekend's 2-1 win at Derby County. Davies described the moment as a freak occurrence and backed the forward to open his account for the Blues soon.

"He could do that 100 times and score 100 goals," Davies told reporters. The manager spoke to Vazquez immediately after the final whistle at Pride Park and has been impressed by his response. "He's a tough cookie. He's shown no signs of fragility," Davies added, noting the striker scored a good goal in training this week that earned a big cheer from his teammates.

Vazquez, yet to start a league game this season, has been used as a substitute in the early stages of the campaign. His missed opportunity at Derby would have been his first goal for the club. Davies said the sooner Vazquez breaks his duck the better, stating the player is desperate to score and the whole team wants him to succeed. The manager believes that first goal will make everyone forget the miss. The striker will be hoping for another chance to impress when Birmingham host Middlesbrough this Saturday at 3pm, a fixture that presents a tough test against the third-placed side.

Solid start to the season

The win at Derby continued a solid start for Birmingham, who sit 10th in the Championship with 10 points from seven games. Davies pointed out his side has the same points tally as at this stage last season but believes they are a better team now, looking more of an attacking threat and more solid as a unit. He acknowledged there is room for improvement but said the club cannot be displeased with their start given a challenging opening schedule that included trips to Sheffield United, Wrexham, Norwich and Derby.

Their only defeat in those four away games was a 2-1 loss at Norwich City. At St Andrew's, they have drawn with Bristol City, Southampton and Wolves. A closer look at the standings shows the competitive nature of the division, with Birmingham well-positioned early on. The team's overall defensive resilience and attacking output can be tracked in more detail on the club's stats page.

Davies emphasised that the team's commitment and love of defending is as valuable as scoring, a mentality he believes will take them a long way. He praised the collective effort, noting that while individuals like Vazquez are in focus, the entire squad is contributing to the positive atmosphere. Attention now turns fully to this Saturday's home game against third-placed Middlesbrough, a chance to build on their encouraging early-season form and climb the table further. Fans can check the full schedule of upcoming challenges on the fixtures page.