Steve Bruce has vowed not to quit Birmingham after their FA Cup humiliation by Liverpool but must wait to see whether co-owner David Sullivan and chairman David Gold decide to keep faith in him or to end his four-and-a-half-year reign.

Birmingham were hammered by Rafael Benitez's side. The City fans, though, were restrained on the whistle although one supporter did cross the pitch and try confront Bruce.

The manager knows his club must improve dramatically if they are to have any chance of Premiership survival ahead of back-to-back fixtures with Manchester United and Chelsea.

Bruce said: "I'm shell-shocked, disappointed and humiliated. It was men against boys, a result possibly waiting to happen with the patched up side we have got.

"It's possibly the worst night I have ever experienced, certainly in management and with the players there are a lot of dented egos in the dressing room. My ego is dented as well.

"There is very little you can say to them. They are absolutely humiliated. Like I said, it was men against boys but that was the situation we had.   "You have got to try to go again. It's going to be a long 24, 48 hours but the one thing about football is there is another game around the corner.

"We have got Manchester United coming up and Chelsea after that. It's going to be a big test for us all, myself, my staff and my managerial ability to try to lift everyone if I can. But I am determined to try to do it.

"I am determined to try to see it through and, if we can get the likes of (Matthew) Upson, (Chris) Sutton, (Muzzy) Izzet and (Emile) Heskey on the pitch, then I am sure we have got a fighting chance.

"Have I the backing of the board still? You will have to ask them that. It is hard for me to answer that. It is a question for the board themselves."

Benitez's side were in control after scoring twice in the opening four minutes through Sami Hyypia and Peter Crouch as they clinched a place in the semi-finals for the 22nd time.

After 38 minutes Crouch struck for the second time with his 12th goal of the campaign.

Substitute Fernando Morientes had the simplest task to net number four just before the hour mark from Steven Gerrard's pass and a stinging 25-yard drive by John Arne Riise nine minutes later made it 5-0.

Birmingham's misery was added to in the 77th minute when half-time substitute Olivier Tebily sliced a Harry Kewell cross into his own net.

Then in the 90th minute substitute Djibril Cisse made it 7-0 when his deflected shot skidded underneath the body of Maik Taylor — via a deflection off Blues' Marcos Painter.

Benitez said: "I have never won 7-0 as a professional manager. I have won 16-0 at youth level. It was a fantastic result.

"If you are losing 2-0 inside five minutes, it is very difficult. They did a lot of things to try to score but at 3-0 it was virtually impossible for them to win. You try to go forward, you leave spaces and we have done a good job also.

"We are closer to the final and we will try to do the same things, play well. But in one game anything can happen."

PA