Gary Rowett pleased with Birmingham City progress

Birmingham City boss Gary Rowett has praised the progress his side have made under his tenure following their 1-1 draw against Derby County.

The Blues were beaten 4-0 by Derby last season at St Andrew's, but this time around the home side did enough to earn a point after Stephen Gleeson handed them the lead, although Johnny Russell's second-strike stopped them from securing the victory.

Rowett told BBC Sport: "It was a really good game which the fans probably enjoyed more than the managers, given the amount of chances at both ends.

"Derby might be disappointed with the amount of chances they have had overall, but we should have scored through Jon Toral early in the second half. At 2-0, that might have broken Derby. You have to take those chances or the game turns on its head.

"I'm not disappointed with a point. Look at how far we've progressed from last year, when Derby came here and battered us 4-0."

Birmingham are seventh in the Championship after three matches this season.