Birmingham City chairman David Gold says Steve Bruce is crucial to the future of the club.

He said: "Continuity of a manager is very important to a club and we have demonstrated time and time again our loyalty during some difficult periods.

"I think what is emerging is a Premier League of two kinds of clubs. One of those is clubs that stay loyal and do everything they can to keep their manager and a loyalty builds up between the board and the manager.

"We make the judgement based on the man. The performances can often be outside of his control.

"For example, when we got relegated from the Premier League two years ago, the injuries were unbelievable. We were relegated not because the manager failed but because of circumstances outside of his control.

"A number of very important players were out for long periods, a situation that cannot be foreseen.

"Then in the Championship people were baying for Steve's head when we lost a couple of games. That happens. That happens to Manchester United.

"It is vital that the board make that judgement about the man and not the results because there are often circumstances beyond their control.

"As always we are looking to fulfil Steve's requirements and aspirations. We have managed to do that for the last six years and I see no reason why we can't resolve issues and problems in the future.

"That might equally depend on the structure of the future board."