Bristol City must not sit back at the Blues - Chris Wood

Chris Wood is urging his Bristol City team-mates to 'get stuck into' Birmingham in today's big Championship showdown in the Midlands.

The West Bromwich Albion forward knows all about the Blues, having spent the first four months of the season on loan at St Andrews.

And he reckons City, who desperately need points to avoid relegation, cannot afford to let Chris Hughton's promotion-chasing side to get into their stride on home soil.

Birmingham have been beaten just once at St Andrews this season and Wood insisted: "You need to unsettle them early on in the game if you can.

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"It is not easy, because St Andrews is a real stronghold for them, but you have to try to quieten the crowd.

"We cannot afford to go there, sit back and allow them to play.

"It is important to get in their faces and disrupt them if we can.

"Birmingham are a very tough side, they have a good home record and that is why they are up near the top challenging for promotion.

"They are a hard side to break down and they do score goals as well. They play good football and it is difficult to find a weak link.

"It is imperative we don't let them settle and we stick to our game-plan. If we do that, then we have a chance."

Wood scored ten goals in 14 starts for Birmingham, but spent much of his time at St Andrews sat on the bench as Blues boss Chris Hughton used giant Serbian striker Nikola Zigic to spearhead his attack.

When his loan spell came to an end at the start of January, Wood declined an invitation to extend his stay in Britain's second city, opting to join the Robins instead.

But he insists he does not have a point to prove and feels his record for Birmingham speaks for itself.

"I'm not going back there with any point to prove," said Wood. "I think I did well when I was there and I was pleased with my contribution.

"I did my job and scored some goals and there are no hard feelings.

"It was just that I needed to play more and it was difficult not being involved as often as I would have liked.

"On a personal level, it was great playing there. But now I'm doing a job for Bristol City and it is tunnel vision as far as I'm concerned.

"My job is to get Bristol City away from the relegation zone and, if we can get three points at Birmingham, I will be over the moon."

City may have beaten fellow-strugglers Nottingham Forest and Coventry in their last two games to move out of the relegation zone and improve their prospects of achieving safety, but Wood is warning against complacency.

He said: "We've got a bit of a gap and a bit of breathing space, but it is not done yet. There is still a long way to go.

"We may have a four-point gap, but the situation is the same as it has always been. We are still too close to the relegation zone for comfort and the motivation is still there to push, move clear and get safe as soon as possible.

"Everybody is feeling upbeat and happier because of the last couple of results. That has shown in training over the last week and we need to take that into the next match."

City have no new injury concerns following the Easter weekend. Striker Brett Pitman, however, begins a three-match ban for his late dismissal against Coventry.