“A luxury player” - Siriki Dembele claim made amid Mark Venus' Birmingham City snub | OneFootball

Birmingham City take on Hull City on Tuesday night as they look to get back on track following successive defeats.

Birmingham City in relegation battle

It’s shaping up to be a really exciting end to the season in the Championship, with arguably every side up to 12th in the league still involved in the relegation fight.

Blues are one club firmly in the mix, as they currently sit 20th in the table, with only goal difference keeping them outside the bottom three, although they do have a game in hand.

Nevertheless, it’s a concerning situation for the side, and the manner of the 4-3 defeat to Southampton last time out will have hurt, as Joe Aribo scored a 96th minute winner for the visitors at St. Andrew’s.

Mark Venus’ rallying cry as Siriki Dembele misses out

Speaking after the loss to Saints, assistant Mark Venus, who is leading the team in Tony Mowbray’s absence, admitted that it’s time to see who the ‘real men’ in the squad are.

Some felt those comments may have been referencing certain individuals, and it was noticeable that Siriki Dembele didn’t come on against Southampton, despite his obvious natural talent.

Plus, it came a week after the winger had failed to do his defensive job properly at Ipswich, as his failure to track back properly ended up in Blues conceding the crucial second goal in their 3-1 loss at Portman Road.

Yet, talking to FLW, Blues fan pundit Mike Gibbs insists Venus wouldn’t have been calling Dembele out with his comments, but he did understand why the 27-year-old didn’t come on, as he urged him to be more of a team player at this critical period.

“I think it could be seen as a dig but I’d be very surprised if it is. Venus has been around the block long enough to know not to make comments like that.

“If I was in his position, I don’t think I would have brought him on. When you’re down to ten men, he’s too much of a luxury player as he probably doesn’t do enough tracking back. When you are a man less, you need players offensively, but they’re going to have to work hard defensively as well.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely one of our more talented players, and at the start of the season he was absolutely fantastic, but he is a luxury and he isn’t really bringing enough defensively, which we need to be brutally honest.

“He has, under Mowbray especially, drifted in and out of games, and we’re in a precarious position. The league is hard enough with 11 players, let alone ten players, so I can understand why he didn’t bring him on. I don’t think that was aimed at Dembele personally.”

Siriki Dembele can play a big role for Birmingham

This is a fair assessment of Dembele, because he does have the ability to make a difference at this level.

The circumstances against Southampton were unique in fairness, as few sides keep the ball like they do, and Blues were down to ten men, so it made sense that he didn’t come on.

Moving forward though, he should have a role to play, as he can produce moments of magic that Blues will need if they are to drag themselves up the table.

But, as Venus says, it’s now about showing character, togetherness and spirit, as Birmingham are in a fight to stay up, and Dembele must prove he can do the hard yards for the side as well.