Blues will be ‘big fish in pond’, warns boss Davies

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has warned that the challenge of winning promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt is not going to be easy.

On the back of eight close-season signings, half of them for seven-figure sums, Blues have been swiftly installed as favourites to win League One and bounce straight back from relegation in May.

Davies knows that American-owned Blues’ summer spending will be envied, unpopular – and make them there to be shot at.

“If anyone thinks it’s going to be easy, whether that’s player or fans, they don’t understand the challenge. There have been some big clubs in League One who have struggled to get out,” he told BBC Radio WM.

“We want to get out of this division as fast as we can but it’s going to take a huge effort. What we have to prepare for is being seen as the big fish in the pond. A lot of teams who play us will see a 0-0 as a good result, especially at our home stadium.

“I’ve been used to working for clubs with high expectancy, I know what it feels like,” admitted the former Liverpool, Celtic and Tottenham assistant manager.

“I’ve been at Liverpool, at Spurs, and you certainly don’t get any more intensity than working in a football city like Glasgow. We need to… have the humility to recognise the challenges that need to be faced.”

‘We need to repay the fans’ faith’

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, in an hour-long interview (to be played out on air at 18:00 BST on Friday), Davies admitted how delighted he is with the public response to his appointment in early June – and the work that has been done since.

Blues have sold 17,000 season tickets – and had 20,000 fans (7,000 from Glasgow) watching last week’s pre-season visit of Rangers for the Trevor Francis Memorial Match.

“It was a special night for my first game at the stadium,” he added.

“I’ve been humbled by the response to me. There won’t be many clubs that get relegated and have this amount of excitement about a new season. But one of the reasons I joined the club was the Blues fans and what it means to them.

“They are backing us and we need to repay their faith. But the way the owners are investing tells you everything about the direction the club is going in.

“It’s all very well having ambition but it also needs processes and people to put it into place. Once I’d met people like Tom Wagner, Tom Brady, Craig Gardner and Garry Cook, it already looked a very well organised club that was just looking for somebody to come in and lead it.”

‘The Blues way’ under Davies

Davies is primed to respond to a disaster of a campaign in 2023-24, remembered only for relegation, Wayne Rooney, and five other ‘gaffers picking the team’.

“When I came in, I was reminded that I was the seventh man in charge in a year,” said Davies. “I knew we need players who can stand up to the challenge. It was vital they were the right character and I have that with all the players we’ve brought in.

“There have been some that weren’t prepared to come down and do the hard yards in League One – but we have made good quality signings and there’s a few more we need to do. The objective was to build a squad better than last year’s.

“The ones I’ve kept are hurting from relegation and want to repay the club. And I love our young players. They give you a different dimension.

“We have depth, quality and we can play high energy football, although sometimes you have to show a bit of patience. The average amount of goals scored in any game is three. That’s one every 30 minutes.

“But not so much patience you lose that penetration. The fans want to see us igniting the stadium. It’s not just about having possession. It’s about using that possession to find the best route to attack.

“For me high pressing will be essential to our game – and that only comes if we train well, with intensity. And they’re going to have to be fit. It has to be all-in too. If they can’t do that, they won’t even train, let alone play.”

Who Davies has learned from

Davies has learnt a lot since coming under Brendan Rodgers’ tutelage so early in his career after his playing dreams were wrecked by injury – but he has had other influences too.

“My principles are the ones I first worked with under Brendan at Swansea,” he added. “If I had to define what I want the fans to see it wouldn’t be possession, it would be the pressing. I want them to see a team that are working very hard.

“There’s that famous Johan Cruyff quote about players only having the ball for three minutes in any game, so what are you doing for the rest of the 90 minutes? You have to run and you have to work.

“I had lot of responsibility working under Brendan – and then Ange Postecoglou too. He was a strong, imposing character who I really enjoyed working with.

“And I worked quite closely with Steven Gerrard at Liverpool. That was a great experience seeing what being an elite-level footballer is all about.

“We lost Harry Kane at Spurs to Bayern Munich but I still did pre-season with him and Son Heung-min and I saw it in them too. The daily habits, the timing, punctuality, appetite to train, the focus in every training session, the analysis after games – all the qualities it takes to get to the top.”

Following this Saturday’s final home friendly against neighbours West Bromwich Albion, Blues start the League One campaign on Saturday, 10 August with the visit of Reading (17:30 BST).

Chris Davies was talking to BBC Radio WM sports editor Richard Wilford