Stansfield not weighed down by goal drought

Birmingham City's leading scorer Jay Stansfield said growing up is helping him cope with his longest goal drought for the club.

The 22-year-old made a blistering start by scoring in the first three games of the season in league and cup.

A double in a 4-1 win against Norwich on 22 November took him to nine goals in 17 appearances, including eight in the league.

But Stansfield, who has 45 goals for the club since joining from Fulham, has been unable to find the net in his 12 appearances since then, including Saturday's 1-1 draw with Stoke.

"It's been the longest time that I haven't scored but I've still been out here and contributing, working hard for the team, and getting an assist here and there is something different to my game," he told BBC Radio WM.

"I think when you grow up you learn not to let it affect you as much as it would have two seasons ago.

"I know my qualities and I know that I'll be on the scoresheet soon and I'm looking forward to that feeling again, but at the moment I'm just making sure that I'm still here doing my best for the team."

Blues are 13th in their first season back in the second tier, within five points of the play-off places after a run of just one defeat in their past seven league matches.

"The league is so tight and everyone is beating everyone so it's up in the air what the season brings for us," added Stansfield.

"But we know where we want to be and we're pushing to do that."