Championship previews: Birmingham star blames St Andrew's floodlights for miss

Birmingham defender David Murphy fears the “terrible” St Andrew's floodlights could derail their play-off bid, writes James Nursey.

Blues host Burnley on Tuesday night, seeking to extend their unbeaten home record in the Championship.

Chris Hughton’s side were held 1-1 at home by Peterborough at the weekend, but might have won had left-back Murphy converted a simple close-range header in the second half.

Instead, he glanced it wide at the Tilton Road End - and blamed the spotlights on the Garrison Lane Stand.

Murphy, 27, admitted: “The lights are not the best. On that side, they’re terrible.

"I still should have scored, but I lost it in the light. I was massively disappointed with it.

“I lost it in the light - the second from last light, it came out right in the middle of it. I just couldn’t see the ball.”

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Malky Mackay admits he needs to strengthen his Cardiff team to make a serious challenge for a place in the Premier League.

The in-form Bluebirds will go third in the Championship if they avoid defeat at Coventry on Tuesday night.

But boss Mackay insists they will only be able to sustain their promotion bid if they bring in reinforcements.

“We need to improve our squad size to go the full distance," said the Scot. "We’ll have to be very lucky with injuries and suspensions if we don’t.

“Southampton and West Ham are strong teams and squads, and it’s usually squads with large numbers and investment that end up at the top of the leagues, no matter which league you are in.

“We need to strengthen the whole squad. We have strength in depth at centre-back, but need that everywhere all over the pitch.

"We don’t have enough players - if one or two players go down in key positions, we don’t have cover.”

Cardiff have won four of their last five league matches, including a 2-1 success at Reading on Saturday.

But Mackay insists his newly-assembled side - with 11 new signings in the squad - will not get carried away.

“It’s nice to be in the mix and in touching distance of what’s going on at the top, but there’s still a long way to go,” he said.