BRUCE TARGETS ANOTHER GUNNER

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce insisted he has learnt from his previous mistakes and will not buy ageing players in a bid to keep the club in the Barclays Premiership.

Bruce admitted he got it wrong by bringing in players at the tail-end of their careers two years ago as City were relegated from the top flight.

He dismantled his squad 12 months ago, put the accent on young players and was rewarded with instant promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship.

Bruce is aware of the need to strengthen but the accent will primarily be on players like Arsenal's 20-year-old defender Johan Djourou who he is hoping to sign on loan.

The Blues boss said: "When we went down 12 months ago, the average age of the squad was something like 31, 32 which was ridiculous so we won't make that mistake again.

"We had too many players at the wrong age, at the wrong time of their career, and that wasn't helpful.

"We let 18-20 players go and brought in a whole new squad to get us promoted. The vast majority of the players here now are young and hungry and they deserve a crack at the Premiership.

"There will be a few comings and goings but the vast majority of the squad deserve a chance. Of course we have to strengthen. We are back in the best league in the world again.

"We will have to spend a bit but rest assured I won't go down that route of signing too many players at the wrong end of my career."

Birmingham have an excellent relationship with Arsenal and last season Nicklas Bendtner, Fabrice Muamba and Sebastian Larsson were all signed on loan with the latter two eventually moving to St. Andrews on a permanent basis.

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