Plenty curse football’s regular international breaks.

They can not only rob you of players who get injured, but disrupt momentum.

For Birmingham City, the last one was a bit of Godsend.

Blues went into the two-week hiatus having scraped a 1-0 win over Peterborough United.

It was a massive result, their first win in the Championship.

Coming out of the break, the performance at Nottingham Forest was vastly improved.

Although Blues threw away a 2-0 lead with 19 minutes to go at the City Ground, their display was like those of old last season.

It was encouraging, and Blues then built on Saturday in midweek with a 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers.

Once more, the signs were good. Blues defended with great resolve and determination. And they always carried a threat, creating good chances.

Yes, the break did Blues good. It cleared the minds, took the pressure off, allowed management and squad to refocus.

And the last two results – albeit Forest was ultimately a disappointment – quelled the anxiety caused by what happened at Sheffield Wednesday and Watford.

Under a new manager, with a few new players – and with extra pressure on, compared to last season – a little time to breathe was needed.

Clark said he had no doubt that Blues would come good.

“I look back to the Peterborough United game and I know that after we got the result – it was not a pretty performance, the result was the most important thing on that day – the belief and confidence were coming back.

“I could see everything being positive around the place and I knew that we’d go to Forest and certainly give a performance that was worthy of the club and the supporters – and we did that.

“Obviously everyone gets disappointed when you are in the position of 2-0 up away from home and you’re playing so well and you get pegged back.

“You can get that negative feeling, but we’ve got to look beyond that and to the bigger picture and see about the quality we showed and the performance we put in.”

Blues face Barnsley at St Andrew’s on Saturday evening – kick-off 5.20pm – and Clark said he was keen that their home form continued to be strong.

Blues have lost just once in their last 26 league matches on their own turf.