On-loan Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner netted the only goal of the game and his 10th of the season in the 15th minute, as Blues moved up from third to reclaim top spot in the Coca-Cola Championship.

City now hold a one-point advantage over nearest promotion rivals West Brom and Derby but defeat left the Elland club without a win from their last four fixtures, and lying four points adrift of safety with the worst goal difference in the division.

But Wise said: "We had a long meeting with the players this morning and set out the games where we feel we can get the points we need to keep us up.

"We have collated the statistics from the last 12 years and when we presented them to the lads, I think they started to realise what we need to do is still more than possible.

"We have got to look at things in a positive manner and I would be worried if we were not creating chances, but we are, and we should have had at least a point out of Birmingham."

Wise was full of admiration for Bendtner's flashing header which separated the teams, but claimed television replays confirmed a Richard Cresswell shot cleared off the Blues goalline by Stephen Clemence should have counted as a goal.

"The linesman was not in the right position to make a judgement, so my point is that he needed to be more aware of the situation and what was going to develop - but he was not," Wise argued.

"If we had got video evidence to call on we would be at least a point better off now but we have to work with what we have got.

"Clemence's standing foot was on the goalline, which means his kicking foot must have been behind the line.

"It was a goal, plain and simple."

Blues counterpart Steve Bruce said: "It sounds as if we might have got away with something with the Cresswell shot on the goalline.

"But we are delighted to be top of the league and we have an outstanding chance to earn promotion, although there are still going to be some ticklish moments between now and the end of the season.

"We now have home games coming up against Cardiff and Derby and they should be cracking matches, so we are going to try and enjoy ourselves - if 'enjoy' is the right word.

"What we have to guard against is this air that seems to have been about the place that we have a divine right to be top of the table and a divine right to go up because we were in the Premiership last year.

"There is no divine right."