Hughton maintains play-off focus

Manager Chris Hughton is refusing to look any further than simply securing Birmingham's play-off place in the npower Championship.

Much is often made about carrying momentum into the end of season showdown and the importance of finishing third or fourth when it comes to opposition and also home advantage in the second leg. But Hughton is not allowing himself to get carried away by all of that and is focused purely on ensuring Blues clinch a top-six finish. Heading into Tuesday night's trip to Ipswich five points clear of seventh-placed Middlesbrough, Hughton said: "At this moment I'm not thinking about a positional place, I'm thinking about finishing in the top six - that's all. "Any team who goes into the play-offs would like to go in with momentum but the play-off games are one-off games. "My only concern is us finishing in the top six, it's what our ambition has been all season. For us to do that would be a wonderful achievement."