Boss Jim Magilton admitted that his side were very much second best to Birmingham in their 2-0 defeat at St Andrew's on Tuesday evening.
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Magilton said: "We gave the ball away very cheaply for the first 20 minutes. This was fatal against a Birmingham side who have the quality in their team to hurt you and they did.

"We did better in the second half, but I never thought we had enough in the final third to really trouble Birmingham.

"That was the big difference between the two sides. If you want to play against the best in this division you have to be up for it from the whistle.

"Birmingham is a place, where if we have any aspirations to play at the next level, you have to match the opposition in every department. This is why overall I was disappointed with our display."

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish was delighted with his side's performance but wasn't getting carried away: "There is still too far to go. With three games a week it is going to be a marathon and anything can happen.

"We have to keep the players sharp and the win over Ipswich was a good example when our midfield was decimated during the game.

"The momentum we built up in the first half was not repeated, although we did have chances to have increased our lead.

"As expected, Ipswich came back into the game in the second half and made it difficult for us.

"I thought the players showed great mental toughness in the circumstances and got us a deserved victory.

"I thought Nigel Quashie was very influential linking play from midfield to the forwards. It was a blow when we had to replace him.

"The front four were in terrific form. James McFadden now looks like the player he was when he joined us last season.

"Seb Larsson was outstanding. His crosses into the box were vintage Larsson."

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