Ex-Birmingham defender Clarkson: Remaining video games ‘essential for Davies’

Former Birmingham City defender Ian Clarkson believes the way forward for Blues boss Chris Davies will rely on how they end the season.

A run of 1 win in six, together with a 1-0 defeat at Derby, has left them 5 locations and 10 factors adrift of the Championship high six with simply seven video games left.

“We’re not going to make the play-offs, but I do think the next seven games will be really, really crucial for Chris Davies,” Clarkson advised BBC WM.

“For me, he gets the rest of the season, absolutely. But if it peters out and tails off quite drastically in the next seven games, he could be putting himself in a scenario where the club looks somewhere else perhaps.”

Davies was appointed in June 2024 and led the relegated Blues straight again to the Championship in 2024-2025.

Whilst Birmingham have taken 35 factors from 19 dwelling matches this season, they’ve managed solely 5 away wins in 20 video games, totalling 18 factors on the street.

Clarkson goes on: “What I would say, and this is quite applicable to a few teams in the Championship, is they’re a vastly different proposition away from home.

“For the primary time on Saturday, Chris Davies, who is generally extremely vocal on the sidelines, was fairly quiet by his requirements. We did look a bit like we have been clutching at straws.”

Just seven months after their Championship promotion, the club’s American owners were revealing plans for a new 62,000-seater stadium.

Clarkson says the club and its fans are highly ambitious: “This season reminds a bit just like the outdated days; we had the large build-up at first of the season, and we now have spent some cash on gamers, however for no matter cause it hasn’t fairly equated to what the homeowners need.

“You need a core of Championship-experienced players. It is a relentless league, and if you’ve got too many players who aren’t used to the rigours of the league, it’s really hard to find the consistency.

“There will probably be some video games the place you suppose, ‘We’ve cracked it right here’ – Portsmouth 4-0, Millwall 4-0, Norwich 4-1, Coventry 3-2.

“Then all of a sudden, a week later it looks like a completely different team. A lot of that is to do with, for example, if you come from Germany, you’re only playing 34 games a season; you have a winter break.

“If you are not used to it, it does take time. People do not usually wish to hear that. They wish to get promotion yesterday.

“But to do that, you probably have to sign lots of players in their late 20s with four or five seasons in the Championship under their belt, but to do that is also very expensive.”