'Feeling the pressure' - Reporter delivers verdict on Chris Davies' position at Birmingham City

Birmingham City are back in action on Sunday with a home clash against Coventry City as they aim to return to winning ways. They have been struggling for form recently and pressure is starting to mount on their head coach Chris Davies. Their upcoming opponents are top of the table above Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough.

The Blues find themselves down in 17th place after 25 fixtures. They have slipped nine points away from the play-offs and are struggling for results at the moment. The Midlands outfit were beaten 3-0 away by Watford last time out on New Year’s Day.

Birmingham City verdict delivered by Sky Sports man

Sky Sports reporter Simeon Gholam believes Davies is ‘feeling the pressure’ at Birmingham. He guided them to promotion from League One last season along with Wrexham and Charlton Athletic. However, his side have found the step up a division tough so far.

Gholam has said: “It has been a pretty grim run for Birmingham City bookended by two clashes with Watford. Victory over the Hornets on December 1 took them to within a point of the play-offs, but no wins since in seven has seen them drop to 17th in the table - nine points off the top six.

“They were comfortably beaten 3-0 at Watford on New Year's Day. Ironically, Javi Gracia's side have since climbed from 15th to fourth. A win is needed for Chris Davies - who knows the expectation at Birmingham and will no doubt be feeling the pressure.”

He added: “The next visitors are Championship leaders Coventry City. They have stumbled a little in their last two, beaten at home by Ipswich Town on December 29, before being pegged back to be held by Charlton on New Year's Day.

“The Tractor Boys are now the nearest challengers to the Sky Blues, but still trail them by eight points. Frank Lampard and his team will likely have more of an eye on Middlesbrough in third - who are nine points behind them, but have just a point in their last four games, and haven't scored in that time either. A lot is on the line at St Andrew's.”

Who could Birmingham City target if Chris Davies is sacked?

Birmingham would have to carefully consider who to bring in next if they dismiss Davies. There are a lot of managers without clubs at the moment and they would need to find the right fit. The likes of Gary O’Neil, Michael Carrick and Will Still are available.

In terms of potential candidates who are in work, Alex Neil has done an impressive job at Millwall, whilst Lee Carsley’s name is never too far away from being mentioned when it comes to the Blues. The latter continues to work with the England set-up. The hierarchy continue to stick with Davies for now but if they lose to Coventry, it remains to be seen how long he could be given after that.

Birmingham have the chance to bring in some more new faces over the coming weeks. The January transfer window is open for business and they have the opportunity to bolster their ranks. They have already swooped in for left-back Kai Wagner from Philadelphia Union.