Birmingham City Seeks Championship Success With Chris Davies After Record-Breaking League One Season

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Birmingham City manager Chris Davies is optimistic about his team's prospects in the Championship following a historic League One season. Under his guidance, Birmingham achieved promotion with a record 111 points, the highest ever in English football. They won 34 out of 46 matches, scoring 84 goals and conceding only 31. Their first challenge in the Championship will be against Ipswich Town, recently relegated from the Premier League.

Davies expressed his excitement about last season's success in an interview with Sky Sports. "It was a rejuvenation of the whole club, really," he said. "That was so enjoyable after so many years in the doldrums, poor leadership and ownership, and just chaos. To actually have a season to remember, for the fans, it was a long time coming." His experience as an assistant manager under Brendan Rodgers at various clubs prepared him for this role.

Despite their impressive performance last season, Davies acknowledges the need to strengthen the squad for the Championship. "Recruitment and retention. That is the big thing this summer for us," he stated. While maintaining their core culture, Davies aims to enhance team quality. Birmingham has been active in transfers, acquiring players like Kyogo Furuhashi and Tommy Doyle while welcoming back Demarai Gray.

Davies is committed to preserving Birmingham's aggressive playing style that led to their success. He plans to add more tactical layers to adapt to Championship challenges. "We still want to be very aggressive with the press," he explained. "I am looking at working with the boys on how it can look when we are deeper in the pitch." This approach is crucial against strong teams that dominate possession.

The Blues' possession-heavy style ranked them fourth among teams with most possession since 2013/14 across England's top four tiers, with 67.15%. Only Pep Guardiola's Manchester City teams had higher percentages during certain seasons. Davies emphasises retaining key players like Jay Stansfield, who recently became an Under-21 European champion.

"This is an exciting time for Jay," Davies remarked about Stansfield's potential impact. "He has everything I love... full of energy, works so hard, has technique and intelligence." Drawing comparisons with Jamie Vardy, Davies sees Stansfield as a striker who can excel through movement and speed.

Embracing Championship Challenges

Davies understands that competing in the Championship brings its own pressures but remains focused on hard work rather than predictions. "I had 60 games last season and was expected to win 58 of them," he joked about handling pressure. He acknowledges that many teams will aim for success this year but stresses earning their place through effort.

The manager believes that with their current squad and momentum from last season's achievements, Birmingham can continue progressing positively in the Championship campaign ahead.