Birmingham Vs Tottenham Hotspur: Match Preview
Posted Saturday, December 04, 2010 by Givemesport.com
Birmingham will be without Alexander Hleb for up to three weeks with a calf strain.
The injury meant the midfielder missed the Carling Cup match against Aston Villa in midweek but manager Alex McLeish revealed it is more serious than originally thought.
Craig Gardner could return to the starting line-up for the match against Tottenham in place of Lee Bowyer after coming off the bench on Wednesday.
McLeish has said that the pitch invasion that took place after his team's win over Villa betrayed a 'small club mentality' amongst those Blues fans at the heart of the trouble.
More than a thousand home supporters ran onto the pitch and confronted away fans housed in the Gil Merrick Stand.
Dozens of seats were ripped out and a flare was thrown from the Kop stand, before being tossed backwards and forwards between the two sets of supporters.
McLeish said City supporters had made the club look small with their actions.
"We have to be bigger than that," he said.
"We have to not have the small club mentality.
"The scenes were like when Hereford beat Newcastle in the cup a few years ago and the fans ran on at the end, and that's fine.
"But not Birmingham, not a Premier League club. Our fans don't need to do that.
"We should be bigger than that. Definitely celebrate it but don't make it look as if it's the World Cup final.
"It's a kind of phenomenon for us that we've beaten them and we've got to think bigger than that.
"It's a huge thing for our fans. I don't condone them running on at all but I understand their emotions.
"Running on the pitch is just a no-go in modern day football."
Michael Dawson returns to the Tottenham squad for the first time since August.
England defender Dawson will be on the bench after recovering from the ligament damage suffered on international duty three months ago.
His return is a boost, with Younes Kaboul (hip) sidelined, while Rafael van der Vaart (hamstring) and Jermaine Jenas (calf) are also out, and captain Ledley King (groin), Jamie O'Hara (back) and Jonathan Woodgate (groin) are longer-term absentees.
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