Eckert on adapting to Christmas schedule
Head Coach Tonda Eckert offered his insight into how his squad have approached the busy festive period ahead of tomorrow's New Year's Day clash with Millwall.
Speaking ahead of a fourth game in 12 days, Eckert explained how many of his squad have had to learn about the renowned scheduling in English football.
"It's very complex but on many levels, there's not really an easy answer because it's not only the physical side but, if you look at some players that came from abroad, the Christmas period is new for some of them.
"It's also the fact that you've played many games now but everything is a first time; it's a first time in a new changing room you've never seen before, you can talk about how Birmingham's going to feel like on the pitch but if you haven't done it before, it's a first time.
"When I try to give a presentation, I need to talk in a different way to Adam Armstrong than I would do Caspar [Jander]. I don't need explain to Arma who Barry Bannan is, for example, but I need to explain that to Caspar."
"You come to a point where fatigue and tiredness is not just physical, the medical department can tell me whose ran so many metres at whatever intensity and you can make a conclusion, but for me it's a lot more to tiredness than just the physical aspect."
With Millwall the penultimate test of a festive run, which will end at Middlesbrough with a total of five matches in 15 days, Eckert added that having faced The Lions more recently will be a positive aspect despite November's defeat at The Den.
"It helps then if you come against Millwall and you've already played them, because you have seen some players already. If you come up against them for the first time it's different.
"The more your brain needs to work the slower your legs become, if your brain doesn't need to work as much your legs are quicker - that's our job to make things as fluid and easy for the players as possible.
"At the same time you need to get used to new environments and I think that's for everyone, so for me [tiredness] is more complex than the physical aspect."
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