Cup win shows Blues are 'ready for anything' - Laird

Birmingham City's 2-1 win over Sheffield United in the Carabao Cup was further evidence the rejuvenated club is proving it is "ready for anything", says defender Ethan Laird.

Wednesday's deserved first-round victory over the Blades came after Blues boss Chris Davies made six changes from the side that were denied a win in their opening Championship match in the final minute by Ipswich Town.

Full-back Laird was one of the players who came in and he told BBC Radio WM it is vital Davies does not see any drop in performance or reliability when he rotates his squad.

"That's the plan. For us to be a trophy-winning squad, we have to be ready for anything," Laird said.

"The gaffer needs to be able to just switch in and switch out, but the reason why we are that good is because we have squad depth.

"We're pushing each other, the competitiveness, and when someone needs to take a break, someone comes in who will do a job."

Birmingham's high press was again on show against Sheffield United and led to their opening goal - and a first for Blues - by Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi.

Laird said the effort it takes to play the way Davies demands is a lot but the rewards are worth it.

"Every game is going to be a motivational slog - we have to keep doing it game after game because the way we play is hard," he said.

"Pressing to score is a hard thing to do. Not many teams press the way we do, but it's what we do and what we believe in. So we have to keep that motivation.

"That's the way we want to play football and there's a good feeling from all the players when we're on the pitch and we just need to keep showing our fight and quality."