Blues gave dad a nice birthday present (and me an early Christmas present) with a 4-0 demolition of West Brom this afternoon. Our top scorers all remain neck-and-neck as both Savage and Morrison netted once, while Heskey got a third (and possibly the fourth, TV replays apparently suggesting the ball went in off him from an Anderton free-kick).

It puts us on 20 points after 18 games, so we've reached the magic halfway point to safety with a game to spare, despite all the doom and gloom of earlier this season. It's hard to believe that just one week ago we were on 14 points and staring at the bottom three; now we've given ourselves much-needed breathing space. As I've been critical of the manager and approach in recent weeks, it's only fair I praise them all now. He's found a hard-working side with a little bit of flair, incorporated local hero Darren Carter in the middle of the pitch and got Morrison and Heskey flourishing as a striking partnership - that's five goals in three games for them.

I still believe Robbie Savage is tempted by a move to Blackburn, but if they lose today (a big if, I know) then they'll be six or seven points adrift of us, which is quite a gulf. If he moves now, he's trading in an improving mid-table side for one embroiled in a relegation battle. However, Steve Bruce has taken the gloves off in Blackburn's alleged underhand tactics, and baldly let it be known that he wants to buy Paul Dickov from them - in other words, if they do want Sav, they'll have to be prepared to cash in on him as part of the deal.

I asked serious questions of Steve Bruce in recent weeks, and he's come up with the answers, and all without sacrificing his two favourite players (Sav and DJ), either! I must admit to getting a liking for humble pie - oh look, here comes another large dollop of it...