"These owners are serious" - Chris Davies drops exciting Birmingham City claim involving Knighthead | OneFootball

Blues are looking to make great strides in the years to come

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies believes that supporters have plenty of reasons to be excited as the club looks to make great strides under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management.

Speaking to Simeon Gholam of Sky Sports, the Blues boss reflected on the demands of his first season in management as well as the club's long-term ambitions under Tom Wagner, with the West Midlands outfit enjoying a fine season in League One, despite the pressure and attention which has come their way across the season.

Birmingham are currently 12 points clear of third-placed Wycombe Wanderers as the final international break of the season comes to a close, but still face a gruelling fixture pile-up in the final month of the campaign, with 11 matches in all competitions still to play between now and the final day clash with Cambridge United on May 3rd.

Regardless, the last nine months have represented a sea change in terms of atmosphere and optimism in B9 despite suffering relegation from the Championship at the end of 2023/24 due to the investment pumped into the squad and infrastructure at both St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park and behind-the-scenes at the club's Elite Performance and Innovation Centre setup in Henley-In-Arden.

Chris Davies issues verdict on Birmingham City's current and long-term ambition

It was revealed by the club at the time of Davies' appointment that the former Liverpool, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager stood out in an evaluation of over 1,000 coaches and over 40 interviews with other potential candidates.

Despite taking his first steps into management in the Second City, the pressure was immediately on the 39-year-old to assemble a squad capable of delivering a first-time promotion and one which could compete immediately in the second tier.

Although the club and league-high record spend on Jay Stansfield generated mass discourse, Blues have overseen a total of 18 incomings compensate for a mass number of departures in the off-season as well as the two transfer windows, in which the sale of Jordan James - which could amount to £8m - counted as pure profit.

Speaking to the aforementioned Gholam, when asked about the transformation at St Andrew's in such a swift timeframe, Davies revealed what enticed him to the project, the demands of the current season and what lies ahead for Bluenoses amid continued talk of a new 60,000-seater stadium as part of a Sports Quarter complex just a stones' throw away from the club's traditional home.

"There's great ambitions here," the Blues boss began. "That was what attracted me to the club, although it went down League One."

"It was a case of the people here, the plans that they've got and not only the plans, the real investment that has been put into the training centre, the stadium. Everything was suggesting that these owners are serious about this project, and it excited me," he added.

"And the owners are very driven, but they also understand that it's a step-by-step process."

"Step one, can we get out of League One? Which I never thought would be easy, and I still don't. We've still got a long way to go, but if and when that can happen, then we would look and think about the next steps," Davies stated.

"But, the long-term ambitions here are very exciting," he claimed. "If I was a Birmingham City fan right now, I'd be really excited by what the owners are doing and their vision."

"But, (for) me as a coach, manager, I'm very happy to be here," he concluded.

In April 2024, it was initially revealed by Wagner that the club had plans to transform the currently derelict Birmingham Wheels site into a regenerated area, with the new stadium at the front and centre of such developments.

Given the fact the club hasn't come close to challenging for a return to the elite of English football since their relegation from the Premier League in 2011, this was ridiculed by supporters of other clubs at length, and only even more so after beginning their first stint at this level since 1995.

However, on the pitch, Davies has galvanised a new-look squad and the fanbase in such a short space of time, with the Watford-born manager recording 35 wins from his first 49 games in charge across all competitions.

The scale of the club's support and potential was further echoed earlier this week, as it was announced that a full allocation of 43,356 supporters will back their side at Wembley Stadium for the EFL Trophy final in two-and-a-half weeks' time.

Whilst it looks like a formality regarding their pending promotion status from the third tier, Davies isn't allowing any hints of complacency to creep into his squad, who have suffered just three defeats in the league this season.