Chris Davies admits Birmingham City 'pinnacle' and draws 'intense' Leicester City comparison

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has admitted guiding Blues to Wembley as head coach trumps winning the FA Cup with Leicester City as an assistant manager.

The Welshman has enjoyed some brilliant days at Wembley Stadium in the past - including Leicester’s 2021 FA Cup triumph and Swansea City’s Championship play-off win - but the upcoming Vertu Trophy final is set to be the “pinnacle” of his career so far.

Blues displayed near-perfect mentality on Tuesday night as they battled through adversity to beat Bradford 2-1 under the lights at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. Jay Stansfield scored a stunning volley to open the scoring but the Bantams equalised controversially in the second half, netting on the counter-attack after Stansfield was denied what looked like a stonewall penalty down the other end of the field.

To make matters worse, Stansfield stayed down for seven or eight minutes and had to be stretched off with a potentially serious injury. Blues’ record signing was taken straight to hospital for checks on his leg – leaving everyone at St Andrew’s stunned.

But Birmingham, determined for justice, kept right on until Lyndon Dykes’ dramatic 88th-minute winner - a glancing header from a Tomoki Iwata cross - spelt the end of the road for Bradford. Davies, the mastermind behind it all, couldn’t be more chuffed for his squad.

“I’m delighted and proud of the players and staff, I’m really happy for the club,” Davies said during Tuesday’s post-match press conference. “It’s something we really wanted to do, to get to Wembley and have that day out for a club that’s suffered for too long really.

“The hope was we could do it. I said to the players, ‘Just look what you’ve done to the stadium’. It was absolutely bouncing and I’ve not seen it like that since I’ve been here. You’ve got to cherish those moments as a club. One more step to go of course when we get there but we managed to get to Wembley, so we’re really happy.”

Desire to lead

Davies is proud to have worked closely the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou at Liverpool, Swansea, Leicester, Celtic and Tottenham but his ambition has always been to make it as the main man. Guiding Blues to a cup final was a dream from the moment he was asked to take on the job, and he’s so glad he did.

“In my football career, this is one of the pinnacles,” Davies admitted. “It means more because I’m the man in charge. I’ve had some great experiences that have really helped me develop and learn, helping me deal with situations like tonight. But for me, to have the chance to take a team to - and a lead a team out at - Wembley in my first season as a manager is something I’m really happy about.

“I always say, when you’re an assistant manager you feel everything - the highs and the lows - sort of a six or seven out of ten. You feel them as it’s painful when you lose and up there when you win, but when you’re a manager it’s 10 out of 10 everything. Emotionally, you feel the losses and the difficult moments so deeply and you feel the highs so much more as well.

“Trying to stay level and calm, I’ve had great experiences watch some of the best cope with those sort of pressures which helped me immensely. That’s what it is – the weight of the responsibility brings with it more intense emotions. How you handle that is key. I’ve got a great job here and great support from the owners, the board. I was very happy to take this job because I knew it was a great opportunity and I felt I could do something here,” Davies said.

‘Process over outcome’

Such success doesn’t come by accident with extensive work going on behind the scenes to ensure Birmingham live up to their lofty expectations. Spending tens of millions of pounds was always going to thrust the limelight upon Blues during their bid to return to the Championship, so it was imperative Davies got things right immediately.

“I think for me it’s process over outcome,” Davies said, explaining the foundation in which he builds his managerial approach upon.

“I try to help the players with that. I just said I’m going to focus on all the processes, not get too fixated on having to win this game, having to do this, having to do that. It’s more, do I know the opposition well, are we training well, what are our set pieces like.

“It’s all of the actual work I need to do rather than getting caught up in the ifs and buts, it’s the best way to deal with pressure. The best way is to focus on the processes you do every day, be consistent with them and the outcomes take care of themselves.

“What’s not easy all the time - and it’s not just me, it’s ultimately the players on the pitch having to deal with it - is the level of expectation every game home and away. It’s a great experience for us all, it’s where you want to be - to be a team with expectation - and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed.

“We’ve got 17 league games and this cup final, so not to be too cliché but it’s 18 cup finals we’ve got now. We’ve got to make sure every league game matters, that we make the most of it and when Wembley comes around we’re ready for it,” Davies said.