Cup hero Carr had 'no interest' in Blues exit

THERE was a mass exodus at Birmingham City in 2011 when the club suffered relegation from the Premier League but Carling Cup-winning captain Stephen Carr had no interest in jumping ship.

- By ALEX DICKEN

A number of players and manager Alex McLeish departed St Andrew's to pave the way for Chris Hughton to assemble a new squad for Blues’ adventure in the Championship and Europa League.

Leaving the club that took him in in 2009 when no one else would was never an option for Carr.

Speaking on the Keep Right On Podcast, Carr said: “I was very, very happy. I owed a lot to the club and the fans. They gave me an opportunity late on in my career when no one else would. The fans were amazing with me and I had a great affiliation with the fans. I was happy being there but I wasn’t happy with what was going to come next because I'd never really played in the Championship. I'd only played in it when I went on trial. It's a tough, tough league. Personally I think it's harder than the Premier League in a different way.”

Carr played 24 times that season, including three times in Europe, but he wasn’t able to take part in the run-in which saw Blues go down to Blackpool in the playoff semifinals.