Luis Vazquez: Birmingham City boss Chris Davies still has faith in striker

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies says he still has total faith in Luis Vazquez after the Argentine striker's glaring miss in last weekend's 2-1 win at Derby County.

Social media turned the Blues substitute's late howler into a meme as his missed chance was compared to other great misses in football history - from Roger Davies to Ronny Rosenthal.

But, ahead of this Saturday's visit of Middlesbrough to St Andrew's, the supportive Davies dismissed it as "a freak".

"He could do that 100 times and score 100 goals," he told BBC Radio WM. "It can only make him stronger.

"He's a tough cookie. He's shown no signs of fragility.

"I made a point to talk to him straight after the game last Saturday. And, when he scored a good goal in training this week, he got a big cheer from the lads."

Vazquez is yet to start a league game for Blues, having so far been used as a substitute - and last Saturday's missed opportunity would have got him off the scoring mark. But Davies knows that the sooner Vazquez breaks his duck for Blues the better.

"He's so desperate to score," he added. "And we so want him to score. As soon as that first one goes in, it will all be forgotten about."

After seeing his side collect seven away points from a possible 12 from trips to Sheffield United, Wrexham, Norwich City (Blues' only defeat) and Derby County, the Blues boss now turns his attention back to the issue of why his side cannot win at home, having so far drawn with Bristol City (2-2), Southampton (1-1) and Wolves (2-2).

But Davies is happy with the way his team have started, given that he has been repeatedly told by outsiders that his side faced as tough an opening programme as any side in the Championship.

"We've got the same amount of points as we did this time last season, but we're a better team," he added.

"We're more of an attacking threat, but we also look a bit more solid and more of a team.

"There's still room for improvement in a few areas, but we can't say we're not pleased with the start we've made, given the challenge we had.

"Our love of defending is clear to see. It's as good as scoring a goal.

"That takes you a long way. So much gets talked about systems but you can't get away from commitment."

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