Harper, 21, played 18 matches for Blues in the second half of the season and battling through those difficult times – particularly under Bowyer’s predecessor Aitor Karanka – is an experience that he feels he’s all the better for having come through.
Rekeem Harper said: “When you playing for West Brom in the Championship, it’s like playing for Manchester City. The players are always going to be confident, but with Birmingham, when I arrived they had lost a few games so the confidence had taken a knock. When we were losing games, you felt like things were on egg-shells. Players were less confident and you could feel it in the group. You never know when you might win your next game, you might need a bit of luck or what not. You had that feeling that you didn’t know when you were going to win your next game, but you have to be ready, you have to switch it on quickly and do your job for the team to help them win games. I learnt a lot there. Hopefully it’s going to stand me in good stead in my career.”
