Rocks will drop out of the Isthmian premier division if results don’t go their way on Saturday when they face Potters Bar Town at Nyewood Lane. His side, currently second from bottom in the league standings, slumped to a disappointing 3-0 loss at Sussex rivals Whitehawk last week to further damage their flimsy hopes of beating the drop.
Birmy also alluded to changes within the squad as the rebuild plans continue to be made with the task to try to bounce back to step three football as soon as possible following demotion.
And after a week with hugely positive news that the club have been granted planning permission to go ahead with their £1.2m plan to install a 3G pitch along with new infrastructure, Birmingham pulled no punches in his assessment of the campaign.
However, the joint manager, in the hot seat on his own at the Hawks with Jamie Howell away, did see the positives of the state-of-the-art surface being laid in terms of being an attractive proposition for new recruits.
He said: “What needs to change is the whole demeanour of the club and that is from the top to the bottom. I think it’s really important that we get the new pitch sooner rather than later; it’s a selling point whether we go down or not — we hope not but at the end of the day it’s looking more and more likely and you have to be man enough to accept that.
“The new pitch is one bit of good in what has been a depressing season for everyone associated with the club. We’re looking forward to it. It’ll be great that we can dangle the carrot for targets which me and Jamie have got.
“If we do get relegated, then it is for one reason and one reason only: you are not good enough and the sooner the players accept that the better. There is no getting away from it. it’s a very tough to be involved with the club at this moment in time.”
Yet the former Rocks midfielder says despite the current woes, he feels optimistic about the future but has warned that a return to step three football might take longer than some believe.
He added: “It’s a great club and when you have the youngsters coming through — and with the people we are trying to target for next season — it’s going to be exciting. But I’d be a liar to say it’s going to happen overnight.”
