Birmingham City Boss Mentioned Their Current “Top” Star

Chris Davies singles out ‘robust’ Birmingham City man as help appears on horizon

Chris Davies has praised unsung hero Alex Cochrane for shouldering the burden of being Birmingham City’s only fit, recognised, senior left back.

The 24-year-old, a summer signing from Hearts, has been an ever-present in Blues’ League One campaign and totted up another 94 minutes in the 1-0 win over Sutton United at the weekend.

The defender is one of just 20 outfield players to play every minute in the whole of the division and has also added four starts in the cup competitions as Blues have progressed to the knockout stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy and the second round of the FA Cup.

Rookie Brandon Khela is the only other Blues player to start at left back, with last term’s starter Lee Buchanan sidelined since the summer.

And Davies is all too aware of the demands placed upon the former Brighton trainee. “I’ve been super impressed with his robustness and his physical fitness and his mental fitness really, to keep going and keep churning out the games because it’s not easy,” he told BirminghamLive.

“He was brought in because we wanted depth in every position and Lee Buchanan’s our other left back, but unfortunately Lee has missed the whole season so far through injury. So Alex has had to to do it all. So I’ve been really, really impressed.

He’s got a really nice left foot and is a very good defender, and in the role he has with the team he picks and chooses the moments to go forward into the final third. He’s got a few assists and is a good set piece taker. I think he’s been in a really good signing for the club.”

Davies hopes help is on the horizon for Cochrane, with Buchanan starting to train with the first team after a couple of calf problems, while Alfons Sampsted hinted at his versatility in the 7-1 win over Fulham.

“The good thing the other night was we saw Alfons could play there because he’s tactically good and quite assured with the ball. I thought it was a good option in that position. We’ve got Ben Davies, left footed, who could also do that role as well.

So we’ve got a couple of options, but the real hope is that Lee Buchanan can get a good base of fitness under his belt now because he’s back in light training with the team. If we can get Lee right, then Lee’s going to be an important player for us for the rest of the season.”

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