Birmingham City Football Club has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent months. More than 20,000 season tickets have already been sold for the upcoming Championship campaign, with another 14,000 supporters waiting on a waiting list. The area surrounding St Andrew's is now dotted with fan parks, and the atmosphere around the stadium is electric.

The club’s leadership has laid out ambitious plans to reconnect the city of England’s second metropolis with the team that carries its name, hoping to unlock the full potential that many believe has been dormant for years. Supporter groups are popping up across the globe, a phenomenon that can be traced back to the excitement generated by Tom Brady’s involvement with the club. Everywhere you look, the conversation revolves around preparing the Blues to be ready for a possible return to the Premier League. In this environment of lofty ownership ambitions and a fanbase that is hungry for success, it is no surprise that Birmingham City feels a sense of urgency.

The buzz brings with it heightened expectations, both from within the club and from the wider football community. There is a palpable belief that the club is on an upward trajectory, yet everyone also recognises that building a sustainable, top‑flight side takes time. Looking back, last season may have been more of a breather for the club rather than a sign of lost momentum. To put the recent performance into perspective, one has to travel back fourteen years to the 2011‑12 season, when Birmingham were still competing in European competition—a far superior achievement than the tenth‑place finish the side managed in the 2025‑26 campaign.

"It was our first season back, and people sometimes struggled to remember how it felt," Birmingham manager Chris Davies told Sky Sports ahead of the season‑opening match against Sheffield United. He was not referring to the supporters – "they have been great" – but to everyone involved in the club’s daily operations.

Davies carries a heavy load of hopes and expectations on his shoulders. "One thing I learned is that I can handle the pressure," he continued.

"I can deal with the highs and the lows." The lows were few, as Birmingham clinched the League One title with a record‑breaking 111 points, dominating matches with a possession‑based style that left opponents chasing shadows. The step up to the Championship proved more demanding. "You can read about the Championship, but living it is a whole different experience," Davies admitted.

The second tier of English football posed questions that the Blues had not faced before, and their original game plan – what he calls Plan A – only worked intermittently. During the League One campaign, Birmingham played a brand of total football, maintaining roughly 80 percent possession and constantly circulating the ball.

That approach worked brilliantly because the team could control games from start to finish. In the Championship, however, the club opted for a more technical recruitment policy, targeting smaller, technically gifted players to replicate that style. While there were moments when the plan shone, there were also occasions when the side lacked the physical punch needed, particularly in away fixtures. A recent Carabao Cup victory over Swansea, secured by a solitary goal despite Birmingham holding only 39 percent of possession, demonstrated that the team has begun to incorporate new elements into its play.

The goal scorer, 22‑year‑old Danish striker August Priske, was a January signing who appears to have thrived after a half‑season of acclimatisation to Championship football. Priske also found the net against Barcelona in a packed St Andrew's last month, further cementing his status as a rising star. Davies praised the rapid development of his recent signings: "Jhon Solis, Carlos Vicente and August all arrived at the same time, and the six months they have had to adapt to English football and the Championship have been crucial.

They have all performed admirably." Vicente, a combative Spanish winger, supplied the assist for Priske’s goal at Swansea, while Solis, a Colombian midfielder, also scored against Barcelona and has quickly become a fan favourite, adding physical presence in the middle of the park. Reflecting on the previous season, Davies concluded that to make the next step forward, the squad would need to increase its physicality. "The modern game is heavily based on man‑to‑man pressing and set‑piece dominance.

You need the athletic capacity to cope with that," he explained. This philosophy has guided the club’s summer transfer activity.

In addition to the winter acquisitions, Birmingham have signed centre‑back Dael Fry, a 6‑ft‑4‑in defender with close to 300 Championship appearances, who is expected to slot into the back line with minimal adaptation time. Davies is not looking to overhaul the team’s identity but rather to build on the foundations already laid. "When you have a side that can retain the ball, it is easier to switch to a more pragmatic or direct approach than if you only know how to play pragmatically," he said. The shift toward a more direct style began toward the end of last season.

In mid‑April, Birmingham were sitting 17th, but the brief international break gave Davies the opportunity to tweak the side’s shape, positioning and emphasis on quick transitions and set‑pieces. The result was a five‑game unbeaten run that propelled the club into a respectable top‑ten finish. "It’s a delicate balance because we don’t want to lose what we are good at," Davies noted.

"What I will not abandon is our pressing. No team in the Championship consistently played through our press last season, and I think it was very effective for us." Going forward, the manager expects further refinements once the team regains possession.

"Ideally, we can use the ball as a weapon, move forward a little quicker, and win more set‑pieces," he added. To that end, Birmingham have hired specialist set‑piece coach Scott Fry. Davies believes that dead‑ball situations could be the decisive factor in turning the Blues into genuine promotion contenders this season. The impact of that focus is already evident.

Solis scored from a set‑piece against Barcelona, and Priske’s winner at Swansea came after a dead‑ball routine that saw Vicente deliver the ball into the striker’s path. "We have a set‑piece coach because we need to score more from those situations," Davies explained. "Last season the top six clubs each netted around 70 goals; Birmingham managed 57.

If we can add 13 more goals, many could come from set‑pieces and a few from counter‑attacks, leaving only a handful to be sourced from open play. That is entirely achievable." The confidence in the squad’s ability to deliver those extra goals is high. The players now have a full season of Championship experience under their belts, having learned what it feels like to travel to places like Millwall and to cope with the rigours of away fixtures.

At the training ground, Davies has stripped away the buzzwords that once adorned the walls, opting for a leaner, more focused mindset that mirrors the squad’s new attitude. While director of football Craig Gardner has departed, the club has downplayed the impact, leaning on the seasoned Mike Rigg to maintain continuity.

Commercially, Birmingham continue to grow, boasting the highest revenue of any Championship side without relying on parachute payments. Having weathered a storm of change and now stabilising, Birmingham City stand on the cusp of their next chapter. The optimism is palpable, and the manager sums it up succinctly: "I am confident we can keep progressing.

The key is to keep moving forward and getting stronger."