Burnley looking forward to Championship's 'level playing field'

He said: "We've got a great opportunity to bounce back and take a leaf out of (the book of) the West Broms of this world.

"They have dropped out of the Premier League, kept the squad together, only lost a couple of players, and we've got the qualities and certainly got goals in us.

"The players have been on a losing streak, and in this division, teams can go on a real run of defeats. You can lose 10 games on the bounce.

"But you've still got to be believing and doing the right things and the players have tried their utmost to turn things around.

"You know we are not on a level playing field. Next season they will win a lot more games because they will be on a level playing field.

"The feelgood factor will be good for them because everyone likes to win games."

On-loan Birmingham striker Christian Benitez scored his first home goal as Alex McLeish's side topped the 50-point mark with this victory against Burnley.

The win preserved City's eight-month unbeaten record at

St Andrew's and they are on course to finish in the top 10 after being written off in pre-season as relegation certainties.

An own-goal from Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen broke the deadlock and Benitez's moment of glory came four minutes before the interval to effectively wrap up the points.

Steven Thompson scored a late consolation for the Clarets, clipping the ball past Joe Hart into the corner of the net.

Laws was disappointed with the award of the free-kick that led to Birmingham's second goal, but conceded his side were their own worst enemy.

He said: "The disappointing thing is, with the ball we were the best side, we passed the ball very well. But we haven't defended two crosses.

"When you're down at the bottom end you never get the rub of the green. For the second goal it was a fantastic tackle from Steven Caldwell."

Birmingham manager McLeish said: "We were very keen to get on to 50 points and it was very important to sustain the home record. Not to lose here since September is a marvellous achievement.

"At the beginning of the season we targeted a point a game. Our tally could have been even higher. We have stuttered recently in terms of results but not performances."

McLeish paid tribute to goalkeeper Hart who has been on loan from Manchester City this season. Hart is now a strong contender to be part of England's World Cup squad after his performances for City.

McLeish said: "People talk about (Edwin) van der Sar saving 15 points a season for Manchester United. We wanted someone of the same sort of ability to do likewise and Joe has done that."

Birmingham City: Hart, Parnaby (Fahey 79), Johnson, Ridgewell, Vignal, Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, McFadden (Michel 66), Jerome (Carsley 90), Benitez. Unused substitutes: Taylor, Murphy, Tainio, Redmond.

Burnley: Jensen, Mears, Cort, Caldwell, Fox, Cork, Alexander (McDonald 86), Nugent (Blake 65), Steven Fletcher (Thompson 68), Paterson, Elliott. Unused substitutes: Weaver, Duff, Rodriguez, Bikey.

Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).