00:00Now, as Birmingham City prepare for life back in the Championship,
00:08excitement is building over what Chris Davies' side can achieve.
00:12We spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to explore expectations
00:16following their impressive League One title win.
00:19Blues' success this season has been built on solid foundations
00:23with a strong core of players stepping up during crucial moments.
00:27Their dominant League One form has raised hopes that they won't just be able
00:31to survive in the Championship but compete near the top.
00:35With the right summer additions and momentum behind them,
00:37Birmingham could be well-placed to challenge further up the table
00:40in what promises to be a wide-open division next campaign.
00:47And looking at Birmingham City now, obviously, since we last caught up,
00:52they have won the lead, they have confirmed their place in the Championship.
00:55Let's just take a little review in terms of their season.
00:58I mean, such an impressive rise.
01:00We mentioned, obviously, Chris Davies wasn't an out-and-out manager
01:03before this season.
01:04He's been unbelievable.
01:05And, you know, yes, they've been competing at a lower level.
01:08Yes, we sort of predicted that this would be the outcome.
01:10But they have still had to go and achieve this feat, you know,
01:15over 90 points.
01:16A fantastic season for Blues and their fan base as well.
01:19So what have you sort of made of this refreshing season
01:22in League One for Birmingham City?
01:24I think it's been a blessing in disguise being relegated down to League One,
01:28in all honesty.
01:29That sounds strange to say.
01:30Any relegation should be absolutely heart-wrenching.
01:33It should be devastating for a football club.
01:35But the way they've picked themselves back up again,
01:37the way that Chris Davies has come in for his first managerial job,
01:40the way that they've reinvented the squad.
01:43Yes, they've spent a lot of money, unprecedented amounts.
01:46You would expect them to go straight back up.
01:47But it still takes that cohesion.
01:49It still takes a manager to bring everyone together and to stay motivated as well.
01:53There's a lot of characters that have dropped down divisions to be in this position
01:57who've been convinced by the project.
01:59And they've decided that they want to stick on with it.
02:01They want to train hard every single day.
02:03That's something I've been speaking to Davies about recently,
02:06is how do you keep that motivation high when you know that you're going to win the title?
02:09You know you're going to go up.
02:10You know you're going to Wembley, etc.
02:12And he's just said that he wants everyone to work hard every day.
02:15Otherwise, they're not going to be part of his future plans.
02:17And I think the players have really bought into that.
02:19Rotation as well has played a key part.
02:21Even someone like Christian Bielek, the club captain,
02:24who last season and the start of this looks so, so important.
02:27He's hardly been able to get a game because there's just so many players in that squad
02:30capable of playing in this level and then up into the championship as well.
02:34It's been seriously impressive.
02:35It's unfortunate they couldn't add that silverware at Wembley,
02:38being beaten by Peterborough United.
02:39It's certainly devastating, but having that day out as well,
02:43nearly 50,000 Blues fans, it's just great for the morale.
02:46And hopefully they can have many days like that in the future.
02:48Yeah, Tom Wagner was quite vocal in terms of saying this Blues side won't let fans down again.
02:56And he can't have overstated the disappointment of the Wembley trip,
03:00obviously not going to plan on the pitch.
03:03You've got to look at the bigger picture in terms of competing in higher stakes games.
03:07They're going to have to go and compete when it matters most in the championship next season.
03:12Their ambitions are not going to be to settle in the championship.
03:15There's no bones about it.
03:17We've learned enough about the ownership, the project now,
03:21but to realise that that's going to be the goal is to really compete towards the top six.
03:25You know, we've seen multiple times with the likes of West Brom how close the playoff race is.
03:31Do you feel Birmingham have enough?
03:32Do you feel they can really compete and look ahead to sort of going up
03:37and really making sure that they're making great sort of steps towards progress in the championship next season?
03:43Yeah, I don't think that people can be expecting to be promoted straight away.
03:47I don't think that's realistic that the championship is so, so competitive.
03:51We've seen that especially this season, the likes of Coventry City being in and amongst the relegation contenders.
03:56And then Frank Lampard comes in within a few months.
03:58They're suddenly playoff contenders, promotion contenders.
04:01Anything can happen and Blues can't be naive.
04:04Even they saw it when they were sixth under John Eustace.
04:06He goes, Wayne Rooney comes in and then they drop away and they are relegated.
04:11It's one of the most unpredictable divisions in the world, let alone just in England.
04:15So they can't take anything for granted.
04:17They've got to work hard.
04:18I think the concern is of Wembley.
04:21Can they deal with these big occasions?
04:22Are they able to compete when the pressure is on them?
04:25I think it was a one-off maybe.
04:27Maybe the pressure did get to them slightly.
04:29They just weren't quite at the races.
04:30But the whole documentary in America, all the big names coming over,
04:34David Beckham and Tom Brady and Ryan Reynolds and co.
04:37They dealt with that fine.
04:38So I think once they get to the championship, it won't be a walk in the park.
04:42But I think they'll be able to deal with it just fine.
Comments