00:00Now, Birmingham City's Virtu Trophy campaign has taken them all the way to Wembley, giving
00:09them a chance to lift silverware as they continue their impressive rise at the top of League
00:13One. With a trip to the National Stadium on the horizon, excitement is building among
00:19fans eager for a memorable day out. I spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World about
00:24the significance of the final. While their league form has been excellent, this cup run
00:29provides an opportunity for even greater success. With silverware within reach, Birmingham
00:34fans will be hoping their team can rise to the occasion and bring home a trophy to remember.
00:44Charlie, looking at Birmingham City and the Virtu Trophy final. Now, obviously,
00:48we've mentioned before it's a final that Blues will want to be in now and probably never again
00:53in terms of the league position to be entering the League Cup instead, the Carabao Cup as it's
01:00known now. In terms of that, the day out at Wembley, we mentioned how great it is for confidence,
01:05how great it is for this new sort of era at Birmingham City as well. If they can go and win
01:10a bit of silverware there and brag that, that's fantastic for these owners and the new project and
01:16it could help attract players in as well. In terms of the final, 43,000 tickets sold just for
01:23Birmingham City fans. This shows how big they are and we discussed when they went first down to
01:28the Championship how big of a club that they are to fall. If you look at the table, there are so
01:33many in there that used to be in the Premier League not so long ago as well. They've done such
01:38a great job this season and this could be a bit of an icing on the cake job if they are to go to
01:43Wembley. What do you feel ahead of the Wembley trip? It's going to be a great day out for Blues fans.
01:49It absolutely is. It's just such a big boost for morale, isn't it? I know that they're obviously
01:53dominating League One, expected to win that title, but to win two pieces of silverware in the same
01:58season after so many years of struggles and pain under the old ownership, to have the new ownership
02:03coming in, not quite going to plan with the choice to appoint Wayne Rooney, getting relegated later in
02:08that season, but then to have the boost again of winning matches, to go up, to get another trophy
02:14and the trip to Wembley, that can make such a difference for supporters. Just having that day
02:19out, getting away from St Andrews is great to go to, but having something a bit different,
02:23having that day out at Wembley is so, so important. When your own club gets there,
02:27it's such a great thrill, isn't it, to be in and amongst the support.
02:31Birmingham City, 43,000 tickets, as you mentioned, selling out their entire allocation,
02:36fighting to try and get more and more. Unfortunately, that is it now. It has been
02:40capped at 43,000. Peterborough, for comparison, is around 20, 21, 22, and they've not sold out
02:46their allocation just yet. For comparison as well, last season's Virtue Trophy final,
02:52or Papa John's as it was known back then, 42,500 tickets sold overall. Birmingham sell 43,000.
03:00It's going to be an incredible day, an incredible atmosphere, and Chris Davies
03:03determined to get that trophy over the line. Just looking at their home form,
03:07they're unbeaten at home this season, 17 wins, three draws, zero losses. How important has that
03:14been in terms of their chase? Obviously, you want to make your home ground a fortress, but
03:19you may accept the odd loss there, but they've taken nothing there. Obviously, the FA Cup lost
03:25to Newcastle, but outside of that, in terms of the league, it's been absolutely flawless at home
03:30this season, and hopefully they can carry that into the Championship.
03:35Yeah, absolutely. They need to make it a fortress, and you'd expect them to do that with the amount
03:40of signings they made in the summer, the amount of money that was spent, but to actually go and do
03:43it is a different thing entirely. Having a club and the team gelling so many new players is important.
03:49A new manager, you've got to remember that Chris Davies had never been a proper manager before this.
03:54He'd only been an assistant coach. Some top clubs, admittedly, but he would only be an assistant.
03:59Now, stepping into his first role, I think he's proven he was ready for that, and just the
04:03leadership, the morale, the togetherness at the football club, it's so important to have that,
04:07and to go unbeaten at home, that would be an incredible achievement. Still a few matches to go,
04:12admittedly. They could still lose one, especially when the league is probably wrapped up before
04:16the end of the campaign, but it would be great for them to wrap that up. It'd be a great statistic,
04:20and one that they can bring with great confidence going up to the Championship.
04:24As I say, they could invest a little bit more into those maybe attacking positions. We've got
04:28Jay Stansfield there already at Birmingham, but Alfie May, he's done well at times. He had a big
04:33goal drought. Could they maybe try and sign another striker to support Jay Stansfield at that level?
04:37Potentially, but I suppose it's just a wait-and-see job. Probably not as much money spent,
04:42but still investment nonetheless.
