STEVE Bruce could be tempted to ring the changes in his Birmingham side tomorrow after admitting that two games in less than four days might be too much for his hard-working players.

The Blues boss was delighted to see his team bounce back from their FA Cup defeat by Sunderland with a 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough at St Andrew's on Wednesday night, but fears the effort has taken its toll.

One player he will be loathe to rest, however, is Robbie Savage, who may have been reckless with a dreadful looking touchline challenge on Boro defender Danny Mills, but was once again the heartbeat of the City performance.

Bruce said: "Sav is Sav. He produced a good performance. He is a good footballer as well.

"He plays with great enthusiasm and it has made him what he is today. He has got a heart as big as himself and he epitomises what we are about."

And Sam Allardyce echoed the sentiments when he acknowledged Birmingham as the hardest working team in the Premiership and hailed Savage - the player opponents love to hate - as their inspiration.

"Robbie's not really physical," the Wanderers boss said: "He tries to be physical but he what he actually does is run around and show a huge amount of energy and effort within a game of football and that effects the rest of the team, who follow."

Allardyce admits Wanderers will have a tough job on their hands tomorrow. Birmingham's victory over a Middlesbrough side that looked emotionally drained after Sunday's Carling Cup win took them to seventh in the table and they now have then incentive of going level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle, if they take maximum points tomorrow.

He said: "They have one of the best goalscorers in the Premiership in Mikael Forssell, who, on the chances-to-goals ratio, is probably up there with Henry and Van Nistelrooy and a goalkeeper, Maik Taylor, who I saw produce three world class saves when Birmingham drew at Manchester City.

"They play with a high tempo with everyone closing the opposition down from start to finish."

Nevertheless, Bruce believes their strength could also be their weakness as they attempt to win two games in quick succession.

"It is very difficult for us to play at such a high tempo continuously," he said.

STEVE Bruce could be tempted to ring the changes in his Birmingham side tomorrow after admitting that two games in less than four days might be too much for his hard-working players.

The Blues boss was delighted to see his team bounce back from their FA Cup defeat by Sunderland with a 3-1 victory over Middlesrough at St Andrew's on Wednesday night but fears the effort has taken its toll.

One player he will be loathe to rest, however, is Robbie Savage, who may have been reckless with a dreadful looking touchline challenge on Boro defender Danny Mills, but was once again the heartbeat of the City performance.

Bruce said: "Sav is Sav. He produced a good performance. He is a good footballer as well.

"He plays with great enthusiasm and it has made him what he is today. He has got a heart as big as himself and he epitomises what we are about."

And Sam Allardyce echoed the sentiments when he acknowledged Birmingham as the hardest working team in the Premiership and hailed Savage - the player opponents love to hate - as their inspiration.

"Robbie's not really physical," the Wanderers boss said: "He tries to be physical but he what he actually does is run around and show a huge amount of energy and effort within a game of football and that affects the rest of the team, who follow."

Allardyce admits Wanderers will have a tough job on their hands tomorrow. Birmingham's victory over a Middlesbrough side that looked emotionally drained after Sunday's Carling Cup win took them to seventh in the table and they now have then incentive of going level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle, if they take maximum points tomorrow.

He said: "They have one of the best goalscorers in the Premiership in Mikael Forssell, who, on the chances-to-goals ratio, is probably up there with Henry and Van Nistelrooy and a goalkeeper, Maik Taylor, who I saw produce three world class saves when Birmingham drew at Manchester City.

"They play with a high tempo with everyone closing the opposition down from start to finish."

Nevertheless, Bruce believes their strength could also be their weakness as they attempt to win two games in quick succession.

"It is very difficult for us to play at such a high tempo continuously," he said.