Birmingham City midfielder Lee Bowyer admits he thought they would be battling relegation in preseason.

Even though he's very much in the latter stages of his 16-year career, it's clear Bowyer already holds his time at St Andrew's in high regard..

"Where would this season rank? It's got to be up there," the east Londoner admitted to the Sunday Mercury..

"Because during pre-season we weren't very good, to be polite. You're thinking 'cor, this is going to be a hard season'..

"But to do what we've done, I think it's up there with the likes of when I finished third or fourth with Leeds, because we were expected to get there..

"But here we were expected to go down. To even finish in the top half would be an exceptional season..

"I just hope that people don't get too greedy and expect the same next year, or higher."