 He should have scored at Queens Park Rangers in September, when he "blazed his shot over the crossbar" after Birmingham broke at pace, and he spent four games out of the league side, during which time he worked in the gym to improve his physical strength and in training on sharpness.He returned to orchestrate a 4–0 win against Millwall when manager Lee Clark's change of formation allowed him to play in his preferred playmaker role, and his first league goal opened the scoring in a 2–0 win at AFC Bournemouth on 14 December.He was regularly involved on matchdays for a time, but it was often as a substitute or in an unaccustomed wide position, and he was out of the side entirely between mid-January and March 2014.