Work hard or find another club - Kevin Nolan throws down the gauntlet to his players

Up until recently, Nolan’s hand had been forced when it came to selecting his starting line-ups and matchday 18s due to injury and unavailability, but as players return from injury, that is no longer the case, as Akin Odimayo and Tariqe Fosu discovered to their cost at the weekend.

Neither player made the squad against Blackpool with fit-again duo Luke Mbete and Nesta Guinness-Walker selected for the bench instead, and Nolan will face further selection headaches when the likes of Tom Eaves and Jack Baldwin return to full fitness.

The Town boss said: "Now there's going to be a situation where lads are going to be disappointed to not even be in the squad. They need to work hard day in and day out and the only way they get into the 11 or the 18 is by doing it on the training pitch and in our analysis work and gym work because that's just as important.

"I want the culture to be all about hard work because that's what I was as a player. I worked hard every day. I came in to work and I trained like I played and I demanded the same from my team-mates and now I demand it as a manager for whatever club I represent.

"I think that's why Kelvin (Thomas) and the owners here gave me this opportunity because they saw my desire to want to work hard and the culture I want to create at this club. If people want to come with me on the journey, great. If they don't, that's up to them but they won't be here for very long. That's the message. They have to show me that desire to do the right things every day.

"And if they work hard and follow the information, we're going to get results and it's testament to them and my team that they have worked so hard and we’ve shown that with our results because we have matched some top sides in this division.

"Birmingham have won everywhere this season but we more than matched them and now we need to produce that same effort week after week. That’s the challenge to the players.”