Birmingham City: Lee Clark wants to avoid repeat of last-day drama

Clark (left) steered his side to survival on the last day of the 2014-14 Championship season with a 2-2 draw at Bolton

Birmingham City boss Lee Clark says they have learnt their lessons from last season's dramatic escape from relegation and are optimistic of having a much better time in 2014-15.

Only a last-minute equaliser at Bolton kept Clark's men in the Championship and he wants an improvement this term.

"We've got to use the experience and build on it. We must not let what happened happen again," he said.

"The camaraderie is fantastic and I think we'll be fine."

Clark has had a busy summer re-shaping his squad at St Andrew's with nine players signed during the close season.

And he said being able to bring players in either permanently or on season-long loans is a much better way of working.

"It means that, every day, me and my coaching staff can work with them," Clark added to BBC WM 95.6.

"They're our players and we're not looking over our shoulders thinking we could lose them if they play well.

"We know it's the group we've got for the season and there's a continuity."

Clark is open-minded about further additions to his squad, with Celtic's 19-year-old striker Denny Johnstone on his radar.

"We're in talks with Celtic, but that's at a really early stage at the moment and there's a lot of hurdles to overcome," he added.

"If that doesn't happen, we're not looking anywhere else to be honest."

Birmingham begin their Championship campaign at Middlesbrough on Saturday, 9 August.