00:00Birmingham City enter a pivotal season back in the Championship carrying the weight of
00:07high expectations following significant investments within the squad. Manager Chris Davis embarks
00:14on his first full campaign in the second tier with a clear mission of building a competitive
00:19side challenging for promotion and ending years of inconsistency. Davis has overseen
00:25huge changes at the club blending talent with experienced recruits to create a balanced
00:30squad. The tactical approach is evolving too with an emphasis on quicker transitions and greater
00:36possession control aiming to dictate matches rather than respond to opponents. The challenge
00:43for Blues lies in integrating new signings while maintaining squad harmony and meeting the high
00:49standards set by both fans and the ownership. We caught up with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham
00:55World who provided insight into the club's summer strategy where Birmingham are targeting
01:01further additions, the tactical shifts underway and how Davis is navigating the club's ambitious
01:07plans ahead of a season that could define their trajectory.
01:13Charlie on Birmingham City let's just touch on Chris Davis now obviously you know across the
01:18campaign we've mentioned their incredible job Blues and the investment etc but they still had to go
01:23and complete the job. Chris Davis has come in his first managerial job you know and then he wins
01:30League One Manager of the Year deservedly so. New League One points record as well beating their
01:35neighbours Wolves to that record. Obviously he didn't go to plan in the Virtue Trophy final but
01:40just as a whole a League One season you know we mentioned before that you know very very start of the
01:45season that it could this is exactly how they wanted it to go and it has panned out to pretty much
01:50perfection. How impressed with Chris Davis have you been and him galvanising this group and believing
01:56in a project for the future?
01:58I've been very impressed. I think it's difficult to come in as your first manager's job with so much
02:03pressure on your shoulders and the football club didn't help with the levels of pressure with the
02:07amount of money they spent so that helped Davies in the long run with having a better squad to deal
02:12with and having a likelier be likely to get promoted and to win the League One title but it did bring
02:19that added pressure on and weight on his shoulders. I think he's dealt with that really well he's kept
02:23level-headed throughout he's focused on the basics first first and foremost making his team the fittest
02:29in League One was one of his big demands at the start of the season he wanted to make sure he had two
02:35players in his position capable of stepping up if there were injuries taking hold at any point which
02:41at that point they did the likes of Tomoki Iwata, Pei Singh Ho, unavailable Lieber Cannon as well having
02:47some serious injuries at left back even Jay Stansfield out for a little patch, Lyndon Dykes, Alfie May etc
02:52some key players getting injured and that was anticipated by Chris Davies in the transfer window
02:57and also just the way he's kept them motivated when they look destined to win the title look destined for
03:03promotion he made sure that every single week every single day in training that they were staying
03:08dedicated to the course they weren't letting anything slip that's just that is very impressive
03:13I think motivation wise just to keep that level going so so consistently throughout such a long
03:19season then to go and break the League One points record I mean is there are there many better
03:23achievements in the EFL from a manager's first ever season as a manager I'm not too sure really truly
03:30remarkable what he's done in the football club and it's exciting to see what he can do in the
03:33championship. Yeah just on the championship obviously you know a lot of clubs even just to
03:38tread water have to spend millions every campaign and you know there's no secret that investment does
03:44get you far in today's game but in terms of their summer how do they approach the championship how do
03:50you see them going about their spending because you know with them and Wrexham as well obviously joining
03:57them with promotion you know these owner situations it could affect them in terms of they've got to be a bit
04:02more careful in the championship next season and to ensure that they are you know keep them within
04:09compliance and you know really going for what could be a fantastic season for them.
04:14Absolutely I think the investment will continue in the summer potentially a new striker I know that
04:19Alfie May played fantastically in League One at times maybe a little bit inconsistent this season
04:24but probably not strong enough to be in the championship week in week out behind the teams that have
04:30been recently relegated from the Premier League anyway Blues will be able to match those in the
04:35playoff fight so I think they can go on and spend not as much as they want but a decent chunk again
04:40and make sure that they are ready to get promoted in the next couple of years.
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