Interim manager Gary Rowett insists Birmingham have their belief back after clinching a priceless 1-0 win at home to Preston.
On-loan Fulham striker Jay Stansfield eased City’s relegation fears with the only goal of the game in the 68th minute.
Stansfield’s 10th Sky Bet Championship goal of the season secured Blues a deserved first victory in eight games since manager Tony Mowbray was last in the dugout.
“I think for the team it was one of the most important wins of the season,” said Rowett.
“I think this win gives them that belief again of knowing what we need to do to win, knowing what we need to do to compete in a game.
“It’s also about knowing that if we show that desire as a group, we’ve got the quality.
“It was an important three points. There’s no feeling like winning games – the feeling for the crowd after the game, the feeling after the final whistle, the feeling as a player coming back into the dressing room.
“Recognising and understanding what got you that feeling and replicating day in, day out is what makes people win all the time. That’s what we need to do.”
After four straight defeats and one point from the last 21, it was also Blues’ first clean sheet in nine.
City have been accused by critics of lacking fight, but it was certainly in evidence here.
“We showed that side of the game that I maybe felt, ‘Have we got that?’” added Rowett.
“All the players can do is prove people wrong. If I was a player and had that labelled at me I would want to roll my sleeves up and do something about it.”
Regarding the goal, Rowett added: “You want a one against one, but maybe not when you’ve got 10 seconds to think about it.
“But I wouldn’t have wanted it to drop to anyone else – he’s as good a finisher as we’ve got.”
Stansfield got the all-important goal with the first opening of the second half.
Koji Miyoshi’s short pass inside his own half carried little danger, but the sliding Andrew Hughes failed to cut it out and then Liam Lindsay completely missed the loose ball to gift Stansfield a clear route to goal.
Preston manager Ryan Lowe said of the goal: “We can’t legislate for that slip – it cost us a point, minimum.
“But we could have had the game out of sight in the first half when we had two glorious chances to score and it would have been a potentially game-over situation at 2-0.
“My centre half (Lindsay) who has been outstanding all season slipped at the wrong time.
“And if you give a player of that calibre a one-versus-one he will have every chance of scoring.”
Lowe felt his side did not do enough to get back into the game.
“We did everything we could, but decision making and a lack of quality has cost us,” he said.
'Your dreams are now my dreams' – Mourinho makes vow to Fenerbahce fans
Jose Mourinho promised Fenerbahce supporters "your dreams are now my dreams" upon his unveiling as the club's new head coach.
The 61-year-old is back in management five months after his departure from Roma, after reportedly putting pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Istanbul giants.
The club teased Mourinho's arrival in the wake of Ismail Kartal’s departure on Friday, with the two-time Champions League winner believed to have verbally agreed to take over on the same day.
Turkey is the fifth different nation in which the Portuguese icon has managed, having also previously enjoyed stints at Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Tottenham.
A domestic title winner in four different countries, Mourinho will now look to follow suit by guiding Fenerbahce to a first Turkish Super Lig triumph in 10 years.
"I want to thank you for your love, the love that I felt from the first moment where my name was first connected with Fenerbahce," he told thousands of supporters who gathered at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium to welcome him.
"Normally, a coach is loved after victories. In this case, I feel that I am loved before victories. That, for me, is a big responsibility that I feel. I promise you that from this moment, I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin.
"Football is a passion and there is no better place to feel that passion. Since the moment I met with [club president] Ali Koc, I wanted to play for you because, in the end, you are the soul of the football club.
"I want to work for Turkish football, I want to work for the Turkish league. I want to help to improve [it] but the most important thing for me is not Turkish football, it's not the Turkish league, it's Fenerbahce.
"To finish, I want to say that from the moment I signed my contract, your dreams are now my dreams."
Atalanta 2-3 Fiorentina: Scalvini injured as La Dea miss chance to finish third
Italy defender Giorgio Scalvini was forced off injured as Atalanta failed to secure a third-place finish in Serie A on Sunday, being substituted late on in a 3-2 loss to Fiorentina.
The Europa League winners faced the Europa Conference League runners-up in Bergamo one week after the rest of the league played their final games of 2023-24, with the teams unable to meet before now due to their European commitments.
A victory would have taken Gian Piero Gasperini's team – who were guaranteed a top-four finish – above Juventus into third, but Andrea Belotti put them behind within six minutes.
Ademola Lookman raced clear to equalise with a dinked finish within six further minutes, but Nicolas Gonzalez's fine volley soon re-established the Viola's lead.
Scalvini drilled in a terrific shot to pull Atalanta level again shortly after the hour mark, but his game would later end in tears as he was helped from the field with an apparent knee issue – a major concern for Italy less than two weeks out from their Euro 2024 opener.
Belotti had put Fiorentina back in the lead following a goalmouth scramble on the stroke of half-time, and Atalanta were unable to force a leveller in the second period as their fine season ended on a flat note.
Data Debrief: Thrilling end to Serie A season
Sunday's game – the final Serie A contest of 2023-24 – saw more first-half goals scored than any other match in the competition this term. Belotti got two of the five, and he now has seven goal involvements (six goals, one assist) in his last six league games against Atalanta.
The result is just a minor inconvenience for La Dea, though. They have finished in Serie A's top four for just the fifth time in their history, previously doing so in 2016-17 (fourth), 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 (all third).
Courtois not getting late Euro 2024 call-up, Belgium's technical director reveals
Thibaut Courtois will not be receiving a late call-up for Euro 2024, but it is down to the Belgian FA to address any off-field issues with the goalkeeper, technical director Franck Vercauteren has revealed.
The Real Madrid stopper was omitted from the Red Devils' 25-man squad for the forthcoming European Championship, despite returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and helping Los Blancos to a 15th Champions League title.
Courtois, who kept a clean sheet as Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley, became embroiled in a public spat with Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco last June, walking out on the squad when he was not named captain in the wake of Eden Hazard's retirement.
Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski and Matz Sels were named as Tedesco's three goalkeepers for the tournament in Germany, where the Red Devils will play in Group E alongside Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia.
And technical director Vercauteren confirmed there would be no U-turn on Courtois' omission, but admitted he may still have a future with the national team.
"Unfortunately, we’ll play the European Championship without him," he said. "So, now we no longer have to focus on that. It is the job of the federation to smooth out the wrinkles. That is absolutely a must.
"We never doubted his qualities or that he would not be fit. So, we must stop the matter now. Signals have been given that we must respect.
"At some point, you have to invest to solve it. That is certainly the intention. It's partly my job to make that happen. We know what we have to do."
Courtois' father Thierry, who was at Wembley to watch his son claim a second Champions League winner's medal, added: "Hopefully, the problem can be sorted out."
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