Former Birmingham winger Jermaine Pennant believes the Blues' relegation battle is down to their failure to keep Steve Bruce at the club.Bruce quit as boss in November after failing to receive a new contract offer amid Carson Yeung's protracted, and ultimately unsuccessful takeover bid.

He immediately took over at Wigan, who he has led from the relegation zone to the brink of safety, while Birmingham have slipped into the bottom three under Bruce's successor Alex McLeish.

Pennant played a key role for his current employers Liverpool as they came from behind to seal a 2-2 draw at St Andrews on Saturday which did little to ease the hosts' fears of an instant return to the Championship.

Blues now have just two games left, against Fulham and Blackburn, to haul themselves to safety, and Pennant is in little doubt over the root cause of their struggles.

"If they go to Fulham and get a result I am sure they will get out of it, but without a shadow of a doubt they have missed Steve Bruce," he told the Daily Mail.

"He got the club up and did well for Birmingham. Now he is doing it for Wigan because they have scrapped their way out of it.

"Birmingham miss him and it will prove costly because getting a new manager halfway through the season when you are in a tight spot is a massive upheaval."

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