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As Gary Rowett prepares to celebrate a year in charge of Birmingham City, Sky Sports get the inside track from Paul Caddis on what has been a remarkable turnaround at St Andrews… Birmingham City are living proof that a year in football is a long time.Rewind 12 months and the club looked in disarray. Having endured a dismal start to the season, the Blues were once again major contenders for the drop just months after saving themselves from the indignity of relegation to League One on the final day of the previous campaign. Lee Clark, the man that had inspired that final-day reprieve, paid the price for Birminghams dreadful start, dismissed with the club languishing in 21st spot and having won only two of their opening 12 matches. His immediate departure did not bring any respite for Birmingham from their poor form. A 1-0 away loss to Blackburn Rovers was followed by a humiliating 8-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, the clubs worst loss at St Andrews in their 139-year history. The situation looked desperate.Step forward Gary Rowett. He came on to the training field the first day and told us he wanted us to be organised and fit, recalls Birmingham defender Paul Caddis. The first day we did some running, which was pretty tough, but we knew from that day on that this manager wanted us to be fit. We started doing a lot more gym work as well. He wanted us stronger as well as fitter.He wanted us to play high tempo. He drilled that into us day by day, to be organised and work as a unit and the work we did then we still do to this day. Each player that goes on that pitch knows what the manager expects of him. Paul Caddis scored the goal that secured Birminghams survival on the final day of the 2013-14 season Rowett would surely have been forgiven if he had decided against taking up the post at his former club. The 41-year-old, who enjoyed two seasons at Birmingham between 1998 and 2000, was going well as manager of League Two Burton Albion and laid the groundwork for the clubs title-winning campaign, which was completed by his successor Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.But, the lure of reviving his old sides fortunes proved too much for Rowett. His Burton backroom staff of Kevin Summerfield, Kevin Poole and Mark Sale - all former Birmingham players - followed him in making the move.Appointed just days before a daunting trip to high-flying local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, who then sat third in the Championship - level on points with leaders Derby County - Rowetts time to inspire an immediate change in fortunes was limited. But, against the odds, the side which had shipped eight goals the previous week produced a display of pure resilience, thwarting Wolves to claim a goalless draw at Molineux. The defeat to Bournemouth is by far the worst moment of my football career. It was not good enough by any means and it was clear to see we needed a manager at the side of the pitch. The boys, the fans and the club were all down in the dumps and it could not get much worse than that, Caddis said. When the manager did come in, he mentioned on his first day that he would never talk about the Bournemouth game. He said its all about from when he came in and what he expects from us, not what has happened in the past. There was a clean slate and that was very refreshing. Going from losing 8-0 at home to Bournemouth to getting a point at Wolves was very big for us at that point in time.The result did not lift Birmingham out of the relegation zone, but it did renew belief among the playing squad. A 2-1 victory over league leaders Watford followed, with Rowett going on to lead his new side to seven wins from his opening 11 matches as manager, losing just twice. That run even included a 6-1 thumping of Reading, Caddis notching the opening goal of that match. A remarkable turnaround given the situation Rowett had encountered on his arrival. We got the sense from the supporters at his first home game against Watford that he was one of their own. Instantly there was a buzz about the fans and we sensed that off them, Caddis added. Caddis has played his part in the revival under Rowett That new sense of optimism swept around the club and a late surge towards the play-off positions was even being whispered by some supporters. It would have been a truly unthinkable prospect a matter of months previous, but the Rowett effect was showing no signs of slowing down. In the end, the task proved a little too much, though Rowett and his Birmingham side have already shown this season that they will be serious contenders for promotion to the Premier League. He has brought so much happiness back to the football club. It is unbelievable what he has done, said Caddis. Seeing different people smiling every day at training, rather than being on edge and scared to talk about the weekend result if it was negative. Win, lose or draw, now theres a feel good factor back about the place.Victory at Bolton Wanderers, earlier this month, lifted Birmingham to the heady heights of second place and provided a reminder to the Championships promotion favourites of their intentions. A 2-0 defeat at Hull City in Rowetts 50th game in charge last weekend provided a slight dampener, but not enough to halt the growing belief in the squads ranks. Birmingham winger Demarai Gray has impressed recently Expectations rise in football when you are doing well, thats normal, said Caddis. At the same time, were not silly, we know this Championship is a very, very tough league and that weve had a good start. We know it can all change within three or four games, a few bad results and you can end up 12th or 13th in the table. The manager has always said do as well as you can and if you can do that, wherever we end up I am happy with that.Every team targets the play-offs though, but why just target for the play-offs, why not target coming in the top two or to win the league and see what happens from there? We saw it with Burnley a couple of seasons ago, nobody expected them to go up, but they were organised and had some good individual players. Rowett reflects on year in charge Given the financial constraints at the club, Rowett has also had to prove himself savvy in the transfer market and continue his fine work with the existing squad.Birmingham are currently owned by Birmingham International Holdings (BIH), an investment holding company originally set up by Carson Yeung. The Hong Kong businessman, who purchased the club from David Gold and David Sullivan in October 2009, was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to six years in prison in March 2014. Despite having previously lost an appeal in May to quash his conviction, Yeung was released from prison on bail in August and granted the right to challenge his conviction once again.Receivers, Ernst and Young, have been running BIH since February, leaving few funds available for Rowett, as they seek new owners for the club while Yeung battles to clear his name. Birmingham currently sit in sixth place, five points behind leaders Brighton Hove and Albion I imagine the budget he has got to work with is a lot less than some of the other clubs in the Championship, Caddis said. That has made what he has done an even better achievement. I have played in League One and League Two and there are a lot of players in the team that have worked their way up the leagues.But the best thing about us is that theres no one player that stands out more than another member of the squad. Obviously weve got a lot of good young talent, like Demarai Gray who is doing really well, but were a very tight knit group and weve all been down the leagues and worked our way up. Sometimes I think that can be better. It will be a sense of déjà vu for Rowett on Saturday as he celebrates a year in charge with a home match against his first opponents Wolves, live on Sky Sports 1HD from 12.00pm.Caddis added: Derbies are special games, they have always got that little bit of edge. When you play at home in derby games, the home section is that little bit busier and they are great games to be involved in, but even better when you win them.Its a fantastic feeling to hear the fans after the match. But, at this stage, its no more than three points so it doesnt matter if we are playing Wolves at home or Rotherham at home, its three points that we are looking to get. Get a Sky Sports Pass No subscription? No problem. Watch the Football League without a contract from ￡6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Rowett seeks Blues consistency FL72 Podcast Ollies predictions Live on Sky Wholesale MLB Jerseys .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Discount Baseball Jerseys . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysusa.com/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Online . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Cheap MLB Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Late on Sunday evening, Indias squad of 17 for the tour of the West Indies was asked to assemble at the team room in their Bangalore hotel for what was to be a team-bonding activity. If the players expected a serious game involving pen and paper, they were in for a surprise when Anil Kumble, the head coach, announced the drum circle, an activity aimed at discovering creativity and energising participants. The agenda, it was later explained, was to get the whole group in sync with the beats, much like they would have to in the West Indies. It started with a pep talk from MS Dhoni, who urged the players to enjoy cricket and not be consumed by the pressures associated with being an Indian cricketer. Over the next hour or so, they jammed to the beats of a popular musician.We were surprised by Anil bhai, Kohli said. We thought it would be a serious session, but it turned out to be a fun session. This is very important for the team. Sometimes, when we are focused on our individual game, we forget the importance of team bonding. We wanted to improve our camaraderie and understanding. This is important because the performance on the field can be better if everyone understands each other better. Everyone enjoyed it a lot and we had fun. It is going to be a long season, and these sorts of activities are required.Shikhar Dhawan had been one of the first to congratulate Sir Kumble on Twitter when he was appointed head coach, and he somewhat summed up the mood in the camp when he said, Kumble sir is too old now, easy to face, before walking off with a grin.Going by what has happened over the last week, this much was certain: Kumbles shoulders must be sore, if not creaking, given the number of hours he has spent bowling in the nets.One of the first to arrive at the ground, Kumble planned the net sessions meticulously, with the bowlers gearing up to bat first, before role reversals. It was no different on Monday, the final day of the teams week-long camp in Bangalore.Kumble rolled his arm over again, his enthusiasm to beat the bat a constant, and the joy on his face when he eventually did suggest not too much had changed since his playing days, except maybe his waistline. After each ball, he would walk back to where an umpire might stand, and monitor the fast bowlers landing. So while Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar earned appreciation each time they beat the bat, theey were also politely informed that they were pushing the crease in their quest for pace.ddddddddddddBhuvneshwar said he was happy to have a bowler as head coach. When you have a coach who is a batsman, he talks more to the batsmen. He talks to the bowlers as well, but those practical things dont come. I am not saying he cant give feedback, but with a coach like Kumble, who is a bowler and has played for India for so many years, you can get more practical things from him rather than from a batsman. That is something I am really looking forward to, and its one thing I will take from him being a coach.Each of the batsmen spent considerable time at the three nets - one for the spinners, one for the quicks, and another for throwdowns, with batting coach Sanjay Bangar hurling the ball down with his sidearm for more than two hours.There was one nervy moment at the pacers net, when R Ashwin walked off clutching his elbow after being hit by a lifter from Shami. He eventually returned, and didnt bat any further. Kumble later said Ashwin had suffered nothing more than a bruise. The intensity picked up when the frontline batsmen geared up for their stints. Dhawan, batting with a slightly open stance after a chat with the video analyst, nicked a few before waltzing down the track to the spinners. Kohli, walking out with three bats, seemed unhappy with his footwork while sweeping the spinners, and asked them to pitch the ball in the same area till he was satisfied. Then he hopped over to the pace bowlers net and was welcomed with a peach from Varun Aaron that squared him up and took the edge. At the throwdown net, he spent close to 20 minutes simply leaving the ball.By the time his first camp as head coach had drawn to a close, Kumble had engaged his team in a drum circle, in sessions of yoga and meditation, and a buddy programme to help them open up to each other.I certainly believe that as a coach of a young team, you need to be hands on and you need to really get your hands dirty as well - train with them, be a part of their training, he had said last week. And be with them more like an elder brother, in every aspect, not just on the field, but also off it.The players seemed to have listened, judging by how quickly they went from Sir Anil to Anil bhai. ' ' '