Birmingham’s new manager Tony Mowbray admitted he was frustrated despite rescuing a dramatic 2-2 draw against Swansea at St Andrew’s.
Substitute Jordan James drilled home from 25 yards in the fifth minute of added time when Blues were struggling to create chances after plenty of opportunities in the first half.
Mowbray thought a point was the least the team deserved in his first game in charge after they dominated for the first hour.
“I thought we could have had scored five goals with the chances we had in the first half,” said Mowbray, who has replaced Wayne Rooney.
“There were chances right in front of the goals where we had shots blocked and then (Siriki) Dembele ran through at the start of the second half – I didn’t see Swansea having those chances.
“I was frustrated that we didn’t win the game, so it was very nice that Luke Williams (Swansea head coach) said we deserved something from it.
“Hopefully, somewhere down the line those chances will go in and we will win 5-2.”
Mowbray admitted it is early days in his reign and accepts there is lots to do.
He added: “There’s a long way to go and it’s a gradual thing because I’ve had three and a half days on the training pitches.
“We have to play forward more – I don’t like teams that ‘horse-shoe’ it around the back and pass it back to the goalkeeper.
“But we kept going to the end and any team that can recover from going goals down is an important trait.
“The players have looked me in the eye and they have bought into what I’m trying to do.”
Swansea took a 36th-minute lead when unmarked defender Harry Darling powered home a bullet header from Josh Tymon’s corner.
That lead lasted just two minutes as Siriki Dembele equalised with a fine solo goal, sprinting away from his marker before curling a low right-footed shot into the far bottom corner of the net.
Darling’s looping header hit the bar before Jamal Lowe got ahead of Dion Sanderson to poke home Tymon’s cross in the 59th minute.
Birmingham looked beaten after tailing off in the last half hour, but James changed all that with a superb strike.
Despite the late setback, Swansea head coach Luke Williams believed the draw was a fair result.
“It was disappointing because there was such little time (after Birmingham’s late equaliser) but if you take the game overall, Birmingham deserved at least a point,” he said.
“We didn’t create enough clear-cut chances to have won – maybe three good chances – but you can’t win a game like that if the other team create three good chances.
“I think we expected a really energetic performance from Birmingham because Tony Mowbray will make sure that happens.
“But we caused ourselves problems because with a team really fired up to press you and be aggressive, we couldn’t afford to play sloppily, especially near your own goal.
“But I think we made the classic mistake of trying to defend the lead out (for the late equaliser).”
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
Pochettino prioritising continuity as Chelsea draw up transfer plans
Mauricio Pochettino feels continuity will be key for Chelsea ahead of his second season in charge, ruling out the prospect of another clear-out at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea clinched European qualification on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, a 2-1 win over Bournemouth ensuring they beat Newcastle United and Manchester United to sixth place.
The Blues finished the campaign with five straight victories, the first time they have achieved that feat since doing so in March 2022 under Thomas Tuchel.
A positive end to Pochettino's debut campaign has quietened talk of his job being under threat, and he wants to see evolution rather than revolution ahead of 2024-25.
"Does the club need new signings? Always, you can improve," Pochettino said after Sunday's victory.
"They are going to be much better next season because they will have one year of experience, a tough experience.
"That is the advantage of being solid and consistent and not making too many changes.
"Next season, if we keep 80 to 85 per cent of the squad, for sure it is a big step forward because it is about having continuity in the ideas and the knowledge between them. That is important for the club.
"That is a club decision. Like it was from the beginning, we [the coaching staff] are going to be there to help and if not, we are going to do our job."
Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 matches of the Premier League season (nine wins, five draws), with that defeat coming by a 5-0 scoreline at Arsenal in April.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal (16 each) and Liverpool (12) won more Premier League games than Chelsea's 10 between the turn of the year and the end of the campaign, with their total of 43 goals in that time ranking them fifth among all teams in the division.
Chelsea's overall tally of 77 goals in 2023-24 was their third-most in a Premier League season, behind only their title-winning campaigns of 2009-10 (103) and 2016-17 (85).
Klopp planning private life after Liverpool exit, coaching return uncertain
Jurgen Klopp is planning to lead a private life after walking away from the Liverpool job, suggesting it is far from certain that he will return to management.
Liverpool beat Wolves 2-0 in Klopp's 334th and final Premier League game at the helm on Sunday, the German becoming the first permanent Reds boss to win his last match in charge since Matt McQueen in February 1928 (3-2 versus Derby County).
Upon announcing his departure in January, Klopp said he was "running out of energy", and he has repeatedly suggested a sabbatical is next after nine years in charge at Anfield.
On Sunday, he hinted a return to coaching was not a guarantee, despite rumours suggesting Bayern Munich or the Germany job could be next for him.
Before planning any future career moves, he intends to spend time with wife Ulla Sandrock, saying: "A private life must be planned and I didn't plan anything yet because I was here.
"Probably Ulla will update me on where we go but I follow happily.
"I have just finished this job. I don't know exactly why nobody believes I probably will not be a manager again but I understand because obviously it seems to be a drug, because everybody comes back and everyone works until they are 70-something. I have always had the idea I won't do that.
"Other people can do it in different ways, I have to be all-in, I have to be the spark, I have to be the energy, I have to be all these kinds of things and I'm empty.
"You only have to look outside which clubs are obviously available. There will be opportunities, but I don't sit here and think, 'maybe in a year's time I'll take that'.
"But look, it's not burning behind me and that gives me a good feeling."
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