Birmingham City manager Gianfranco Zola has insisted that reaching the playoffs is still an "achievable" target for his side this season.

The Midlands outfit were seventh in the Championship table when they made the shock decision to sack Gary Rowett and replace him with Zola just before Christmas.

The Italian got off to a rocky start in the hotseat and went eight games without a win before finally claiming all three points with a 1-0 victory over Fulham at St Andrew's on Saturday.

Brum are now down to 12th in the table and a not-insurmountable nine points off the top six with 16 games of their season left to play.

"Of course we have to set a good target, which is not easy but is achievable," Zola told reporters at his Wednesday press conference. "We are going to try very hard. Were we ever looking over our shoulder? I wasn't looking up or down, I was looking at how the team was improving and settling as a team.

"To be honest the camp has always been good. The players were totally happy in what they were doing but obviously the atmosphere [has now] lifted a little bit higher."

Next up for Zola's side is a tough trip to sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.