There is a scene in the Built In Birmingham: Brady & the Blues docuseries in which Birmingham City manager Chris Davies asks, with typical respectful clarity, that the cameras be turned off.
Davies wants to concentrate on his work and his players after a frustrating result. To paraphrase one of his long-forgotten predecessors, he is a football manager. Performing that role in peace is easier at some clubs than others.
Davies manages what could be one of the most distracted clubs in the EFL if left unchecked and he knows that the ability to shut out that noise is an essential characteristic not only for him, but for his players too.
“I’ve spoken to them previously about having the blinkers on really, just looking at the hurdles, the grass, the fences in front of you and the finish line, and everything else doesn’t matter,” Davies tells The i Paper.
The backing of owner Tom Wagner and NFL superstar Tom Brady mean lots of distraction at St Andrews (Photo: Getty)“I think a lot of them have adapted to the outside noise. It’s part of the job, obviously, part of our world that we live in. I’ve always said that it’s really easy for me because I don’t have any social media; I don’t listen to anything. I focus on what I believe is important.
“To be quite frank, there was more external noise and distraction leading into last season than there has been this season, which I’m hoping can work in our favour.”
When the Blues stride between the pyrotechnics boxes at the corner of St Andrew’s for their first home fixture of the season against Bristol City on Saturday, the shortcomings of the place will be clear to the fans in attendance.
St Andrew’s has been shown more love in the last few years than the decades before it but Birmingham plan to outgrow it. As a future in the Powerhouse Stadium creeps nearer, Davies is charged with generating a football status that justifies building it.
This is Davies’ third season and Birmingham’s second back in the Championship. The stated ambition of chairman Tom Wagner and the figurehead role of NFL legend Tom Brady, even the stadium move itself, mean that the target can only be a return to the Premier League.
‘Mine is the opinion that matters most’
Jhon Solis has been added to Birmingham’s ranks on a permanent basis this summer (Photo: Getty)Birmingham have been busy in the transfer market throughout Davies’ time in the dugout, a period in which they have secured a record-breaking promotion from League One and a top-half finish in the second tier.
New players have arrived in numbers at a club where the future is unhidden, ambition worn loud and proud, and the brief demanding.
Davies expects his newcomers – this summer, they include striker Luis Vazquez, a permanent move for popular midfielder Jhon Solis, and defenders Kristoffer Lund and Dael Fry – to put the blinkers on and go for it.
“Being a football player is challenging,” he says. “There’s a lot going on and you’re feeling the pressure and you just need to regulate that and understand who you need to listen to and what’s important.
“There are a million opinions but really it’s mine that matters most, as their manager, so you focus on that and focus on what we’re trying to do as a team.
“I’m very happy with the dressing room we have. We’ve had to work hard at it. It doesn’t just happen overnight. We’ve got a dressing room full of good, honest characters that will give their very best and they know what it means to be a Birmingham City player. That gives me great hope for the future.”
‘Some games can be a hard watch’
‘Your energy needs to be protected as a manager,’ says Davies (Photo: Getty)Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League last season and quickly installed as promotion favourites.
“There are some really good teams in the Championship,” Davies adds.
“I think a lot of them are well set up. You have to be good in a lot of areas in your game to win consistently. It’s very hard to win consistently. The volume of games makes it tougher.
“It’s hard not to be drawn to the Championship in terms of its unpredictability. Some games can be a hard watch, don’t get me wrong, but you do get some good games and you get some really tight games.”
‘I want my players to see that I can handle it’
With the first round of the Carabao Cup already successfully negotiated and an away point in the bag, another long season stretches before Davies. He doesn’t lack for experience in the game but Birmingham is his first senior managerial role and it can take a while to get used to those bruising EFL campaigns.
“It’s how you recover. I think your energy needs to be protected as a football manager in terms of what you stress about and what you don’t,” Davies adds.
“What I’ve learned about football management is it’s about my energy levels, basically, and how to manage them. I know I can deal with the job and the pressures that come with that.
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There will be hope at St Andrew’s before the first home game of Birmingham’s league campaign. The reconfigured play-offs promise to keep more matches interesting further into the season and crack the door open just that little bit wider for teams on the cusp.
Davies will demand that the Blues, blinkers on and heads down, are among those who stay the course.
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