EFL Trophy 'not a throwaway competition' for Birmingham

Scott Wright began his career with Aberdeen before moving to Rangers in January 2021 where he made 120 appearances in three-and-a-half seasons

Birmingham City winger Scott Wright says the EFL Trophy is not a "throwaway competition" as far as the League One leaders are concerned.

Wright scored twice and set up another as Blues comfortably beat Shrewsbury Town 4-0 at The Croud Meadow to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Although promotion back to the Championship is the main target for Chris Davies' side, a win in their final group match against Fulham under-21s will put Blues into the next phase of the competition.

"We wanted to give a good account of ourselves and wanted to bounce back as quickly as we could following he disappointment at the weekend - and we've done that," Wright, 27, said.

"There's no such thing for us at a club like this as a throwaway game, never mind a throwaway competition.

"We'll be taking this a seriously as possible - I think you can see that from the way we've approached this competition."

Starting for the first time since their last EFL Trophy group game on 3 September, Wright put Blues in front from close range after eight minutes before teeing-up Tomoki Iwata to doubling the visitors lead 20 minutes later.

Wright then grabbed his second, finishing off a one-two with Keshi Anderson, to put Blues firmly in control before half-time.

Swedish striker Emil Hansson's first goal for the club capped a fine result, three days after their seven-game winning streak in League One came to an end with Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Charlton Athletic.

Wright, a summer arrival from Rangers, is yet to make his full league debut for Blues but has already endeared himself to the fans with a last-minute winner off the bench in a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic on his first appearance - a day after signing on deadline day.

Success at Blues 'collective, not personal'

With the team two points clear at the top of League One, the early signs are positive over an immediate return to the Championship at the end the of the season and Wright is keen to play his part - in whatever capacity.

"It's different opportunities at different times, I want to help the team whenever I can," he added.

"Whether that's from the start, or from the bench, with goals, assists or just running with the ball. It's a collective thing not a personal one.

"The standards and the training are so high and we're trying to drive that forward.

"We want to set up these 'pictures' out on the pitch and the manager's been fantastic at driving that home."