MARC Roberts insists facing Birmingham City, who released him earlier this year, will be ‘just another game’ and that they have a ‘completely different team’ to the one he was relegated with last season.
The defender joined the Blues from Barnsley in 2017 for a reported £5million then made 197 appearances before being released last summer and returning to his hometown club.
Although it has been just a few months since he left, almost the entire Birmingham squad has changed under new coach Chris Davies.
As well as Roberts, Barnsley players Sam Cosgrove and Corey O’Keeffe both had spells at Birmingham earlier in their career.
Roberts told the Chronicle: “They are a completely different team with a completely different style of play and they are doing well.
“They are good but so are we and I have no doubt we can cause them some problems as well. I don’t see why we can’t beat them.
“I know people will talk about it being my old club, and a couple of others players’ old club, but it doesn’t really cross my mind. It’s another tough game in a really tough league.
“We need to make sure we are at it to be anywhere near the standard we need to be to win games.”
Barnsley lost 1-0 at Wrexham on Tuesday, conceding to Oliver Rathbone’s injury-time strike from 25 yards. They are winless in five.
Roberts said: “I don’t think he can hit it anywhere other than there and it go in.
“That’s how it feels like it’s going at the moment. We’re having large parts of games then getting the goal against us at the end is disheartening.
“I feel for the lads, gaffer and staff who put in a lot of graft to get us from where we were to this point. I feel we aren’t a million miles away from really sticking it to some teams. But we have got to learn as a team.
“In the 92nd minute we have to realise what’s happening. Once Sam slips and the centre half gets through, we should retreat a little bit as a team and stay compact. But it’s easy to say that when you’ve watched it back.
“But it can be something we look at going forward.”
Wrexham are unbeaten at home this season, drawing just one of 12.
Roberts said: “They have done well on their patch but I genuinely believe we can beat anybody.
“I still believe that and I will until it looks like it’s not going to be that way.
“If we keep doing what we’re doing I am 100 per cent sure we will get rub of the green, or a bit more quality up front, and something will click and we will go on our own good run.”
