Dowie had demanded a response in the battle to stay in the Premier League after the Tigers had been beaten 4-1 at home last weekend. He reminded the squad of their responsibilities to the club and the area and was satisfied with the way they claimed only their fifth away point of the campaign against Alex McLeish's side. Dowie said: "You have to be careful not to over-react at times. No one was more angry, frustrated or fuming at the end of the Burnley game than me after our second-half performance. "I had a conversation this week with the players, ramming home what Premier League survival means to the area, the people who work at the club, and the fans. "I asked for a response in training, then I wanted a positive performance today - and I got it. There weren't many chances but I thought we shaded it in terms of opportunities. "It is a working-class area and people demand the lads put a shift in and you saw that today. "Against Burley in the second half we didn't do that enough. That is the minimum we require. "We got the response and we will see how important that point is at the end of the season. "But given Birmingham's home record, it was a display to be proud of." Blues also responded in a positive fashion after their 5-1 reversal at Manchester City and they have not been beaten at St Andrew's since September. McLeish said: "After the five breakaway goals from City last week, I wanted a clean sheet and I'm proud of the lads and the way we bounced back. "Maybe we didn't have the imagination or creativity in the final third but we still showed a lot of professionalism. "We have proved time and time again that we can bounce back. You have bad performances from time to time but the players have got it in their character to respond. "You have to dust it off like a bit of dandruff on your shoulder and show what you can do." McLeish insists it is not difficult to motivate his players even though they have been safe in terms of points accrued since the end of February. He said: "At the start of the season people were thinking we would maybe win 10 or 12 games to get us safe but the lads have punched above their weight considerably. "The difference between the top six sides and other clubs is that they can do it a bit more consistently. "Teams with lesser quality and capabilities can sometimes fizzle out but it is not down to lack of effort."
