Birmingham’s back in charge at Horndean – and tipping striker Duffin to impress after ‘horrendous’ injury

Birmingham was suspended for the 2-1 FA Cup defeat at lower division Bemerton Heath Harlequins in midweek.

Assistant manager Jason Mann took charge as Birmingham was sitting out the second of a two-match ground ban hanging over from last season.

He can't wait to get back on the touchline as, despite the FA Cup disappointment, he remains highly positive ahead of his fifth league season in charge of the Deans

'Going out of the FA Cup is a bit of a downer for the club but, by all accounts, we didn't play badly,' said Birmingham.

'If anything, Bemerton having a player sent off (Kane O’Keefe in the first half) killed it for us a little bit.

'Bemerton had a lot of experience in their side and knew what to do when the going got tough.

'They became more compact and looked to hit us on the break.

'We are still a very young side and ended up trying to force things instead of stretching the old legs in the Bemerton team.'

Birmingham is expecting an equally tough encounter against Poppies with both teams eager to put league points on the board.

The visitors showed they will be a threat, only losing 5-4 on penalties to Southern League Basingstoke Town in Tuesday’s FA Cup tie.

'We always have a good game against the Poppies,' said Birmingham.

'I expect them to be well drilled, work hard for each other and play with lots of enthusiasm.

'We will approach the game in a positive manner, emphasising what we did well in our first game.

'The players must keep believing in what they are doing.

'They have done well in some tough pre-season games and can take a lot of confidence from that.'

Birmingham will wait to see how much the FA Cup tie took out of his players before deciding on his line-up.

He is prepared to make changes if necessary.

One player he believes will have a huge part to play in 2020/21 is front man Connor Duffin.

Duffin, who netted at Bemerton, suffered a serious leg break a few games into the 2017/18 season and was still troubled by it last season.

He has now had the steel pins and rods removed and has renewed intent.

'Connor was my first signing when I took over at Horndean,' said Birmingham.

'He suffered an horrendous leg break but has battled hard to get back.

'The lad has come back very different, turning up at training wearing a weighted vest and worked very hard.

'We play him up top and he is a big strong boy, not afraid to get stuck into defenders.

'He also has a good footballing brain and is an important part of our squad.

'I can't speak too highly of him, but we still have to look after him a little bit because of his previous injury.'

Duffin netted 14 league and cup goals in his first season at Horndean in 2016/17.

He missed most of the following campaign after his leg break, and has made just 17 starts in all competitions for the club in the last two seasons - plus 37 sub appearances.