Christoph Klarer reveals Birmingham City issue that needs to be fixed | OneFootball

Birmingham City defender Christoph Klarer believes he and his team-mates must improve their form on the road.

Birmingham City defender Christoph Klarer has warned his team-mates that they must improve their away form despite their commanding lead at the top of the League One table.

After a 0-0 draw at Reading and a 3-1 defeat at Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham's winless run on the road extended to three games as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Northampton Town at Sixfields on Saturday.

The Cobblers took the lead in the 17th minute through Tomoki Iwata's comical own goal, and they nearly went into the break ahead, but the Blues equalised in first half stoppage time when Keshi Anderson headed in Klarer's cross.

Birmingham applied plenty of pressure in the second half as they looked to find a winner, and Jay Stansfield and Willum Willumsson both went close, but Northampton held on to pick up their second point against Chris Davies' side this season after a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in November.

The Blues remain top of the table, 12 points clear of second-placed Wrexham and 15 points clear of third-placed Wycombe Wanderers, and they are back in action in just under two weeks' time when they host Shrewsbury Town after the international break.

Christoph Klarer issues Birmingham City away form warning

Klarer, who has made 44 appearances this season after joining Birmingham from Darmstadt in the summer, criticised his team-mates for their first half performance at Northampton on Saturday, and he insisted the Blues must improve on the road.

"I don’t think we did our job well enough in the first half," Klarer told Birmingham World.

"We didn’t have the right aggression that you need when you come to places like this when they thrive off long throws and set plays.

"The gaffer was pretty honest with what he thought about that first half performance.

"We had the conditions of the pitch and the wind against us but that shouldn’t be an excuse for us not showing the right level of aggression.

"We need to be better, especially away from home. If those are the stats (no wins in three away games), we need to improve on that form and we have the chance to do that after the international break.

"Look, it’s not easy but it’s not supposed to be easy.

"We’re all getting paid to do a job, we have a big aim and we want to achieve that.

"I expect that from our players to not fall over when the wind’s against you and things don’t go your way.

"We’ve got enough character and experience among the group of players on the pitch strong enough to overcome the obstacles."

Birmingham City must raise standards ahead of impending Championship return

With just 10 games of the season remaining, promotion is almost guaranteed for Birmingham, and dropping points as they did at Northampton on Saturday is unlikely to be too costly.

However, the Blues are now without a victory in their last three away games, and they have won just two of their last six away matches overall, which is a cause for concern as they prepare to make the step up to the Championship.

It is difficult to be too critical of Birmingham given their dominance of League One this term, but Davies would perhaps have expected a little bit more from his side on the road, particularly considering the money they have spent, and it is an area he will need to address next season.