Birmingham City were beaten at home for only the second time in league action under Chris Davies on Monday night, with Middlesbrough winning 3-1.

Former Aston Villa player Matt Targett scored twice in the first half, giving Kim Hellberg’s side a comfortable lead.

Despite Birmingham rallied at the start of the second half and halving the lead through Marvin Ducksch, Middlesbrough regained control, and David Strelec’s fourth goal of the season guaranteed the away side’s return to victory.

This week has demonstrated how ruthless the Championship can be as we enter the latter months of the season, as back-to-back defeats have dropped the Blues to 12th, with their previously two-point lead over the top six expanded to eight.

Birmingham’s defeats to Millwall and Boro, two of the league’s top three, have provided a very damning hint that the club may not be ready for the Premier League just yet, and with only 11 games remaining, their chances of making the play-offs are also getting more small.

Chris Davies delivers a critical appraisal of Birmingham City’s play-off prospects

Speaking after the game, Chris Davies told Birmingham Live that he believes the play-off situation will be clearer when the final round of international matchups for the season rolls around at the end of March. Then there will be seven games remaining.

However, he confessed that his side will need to be near-perfect to realize their top-six ambitions, as the points gap with Wrexham rose to eight over the weekend.

“I believe everything will become obvious by the time we reach the international break. “We would need something special now in terms of a run and a points return to make the play-offs,” he stated.We are capable, but it is game by game; we must assess where we stand. By the international break, there will be seven games remaining and 21 points to play for.[Monday night] seemed like an opportunity against one of the finest teams to make a statement or win. Unfortunately, we did not do enough.

There have been numerous opportunities in the previous two games to truly establish a claim for a play-off spot, but the Blues have failed to rise to the occasion against Millwall and Middlesbrough.

They now face a critical four-game stretch before the international break. If Davies is correct, these games might decide their season.

Birmingham City should make a statement before the international break.

As is customary after a two-game stretch against two of the top three, Birmingham’s schedule eases significantly before the international break at the end of March.

However, the magnitude of these games will ensure that they are as vital as the Millwall and Boro clashes of the previous week.

The Blues will go to the Valley to face Charlton Athletic this weekend, followed by back-to-back home games against QPR and Sheffield United, followed by an away game against Derby County before the break.

Birmingham must pick up points in all of those games to keep their play-off hopes alive, but especially in the last two, as Sheffield United and Derby are also in the mix alongside Chris Davies’ team.

10 to 12 points would certainly reduce the gap between themselves and Wrexham, putting the Blues in a strong position moving into the run-in. They’ll need to be “pretty special” to do so, as Davies stated, but they’ve demonstrated on multiple occasions this season that they can be exactly that.