Birmingham City

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies admits his team have lost their confidence after Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to relegation strugglers Blackburn Rovers.

It was a fifth defeat in seven matches, leaving the Blues 11 points adrift of the top six.

"A very disappointing result for us obviously," Davies told BBC WM: "We can't say we did enough to win it. You can see the confidence isn't there.

"Everything that I want from our play - the intensity, the tempo - we don't have enough of that attacking players really firing right now, where they have been earlier in the season.

"What I will say is I don't think its for want of trying. The players are running and working, and giving everything they can which is fundamental, but we're lacking that fundamental confidence.

"After being in such good form after Christmas, we've really hit a period where we're suffering right now, and its up to me to find the answers for it."

Image source, Getty Images

Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has accepted the Championship play-offs are out of their grasp but believes they are progressing as a club.

Blues are 11th in the table, 10 points short of the play-off places with seven games remaining but Davies is keen they do not coast to the end of the season.

"We're trying to make sure we finish the season strongly," he told BBC Radio WM.

"There was a hope you can go and get in the Premier League at the first time of asking for us which it would be coming up from League One.

"What's clear is I do think we've made progress this year. We've been competitive but not as consistent as I'd like us to be."

Birmingham won the League One title last season with a record haul of 111 points, losing only three games and Davies now thinks they can learn from this season to mount a challenge for promotion.

"Where we position ourselves now is a club, a team and me as a manager very confident I'll be more successful here and get this club to the Premier League and stay there," he added.

"What we've seen in recent years is teams who do go from League One and straight up, they don't last long normally in the Premier League.

"Teams like Brentford, Brighton and teams who get there and stay there, they grow and build their team and infrastructure where they can actually be proper Premier League teams and I believe that's what we'll do here with me as manager."

Blackburn Rovers will aim to gain further ground on the bottom three when they make the trip to St Andrew's on Friday (15:00 BST).

Rovers are currently four points clear of 22nd placed Leicester City but have had limited time with boss Michael O'Neill during the international break, who was fulfilling his duties as Northern Ireland boss.

Meanwhile Blues are hoping to keep their faint hopes of the play-offs going by remaining imperious on home soil.

• Birmingham have won three of their last four league games against Blackburn (L1), as many as they had in their previous 20. They're looking to complete their first league double over Rovers since 1950-51.

• Blackburn have lost 1-0 in their last two away league games against Birmingham, last going three visits without a goal between 1987 and 2000.

• Birmingham have lost four of their last six league games (W1 D1), having been unbeaten in their previous eight before this (W5 D3).

• Blackburn have won 56% of their points away from home this season (24/43). Ignoring point deductions, only Sheffield Wednesday (58%) have earned a higher share on the road in the Championship this term.

• Blackburn Rovers have underperformed their expected goals more than any other side in the Championship this season (-12.1), netting just 36 goals from an xG of 48.1

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies said he is "used to the pressure" of the Blues hotseat after his side's play-off hopes faded with defeat on Saturday.

A run of one win in six, after a 1-0 defeat at Derby, left Blues five places and 10 points adrift of the Championship top six with just seven games of the season left.

Yet Davies insisted he was thinking only about on-field performances and results when asked if he felt those seven games could decide his future.

"I think when it comes to my position at the club I've always felt pressure as such from the very first day I got here," he told BBC Radio WM.

"If I wasn't in the top two of League One the whole time, or top of League One, then I wouldn't be here, so I'm kind of used to that.

"So I'm not really thinking too much about that. I think we have a responsibility to finish those seven games strongly regardless of what happens with me."

Davies is aware of the lofty ambitions of the club's American owners who last year unveiled plans for a new 64,000-capacity stadium.

But having got Blues back in the Championship in his first season and then in play-off contention in his second, the head coach stressed the need for a little context.

"When I came to this club I knew exactly where it was and what it looked like - it wasn't in the Championship," he said.

"But, of course, we want to make sure that we're making progress each season and that's what we have to look to do."

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies spoke to BBC Radio WM after Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Derby County.

"It was very disappointing again. We deserved nothing from the match, and that's what we got," he said.

"I think first half we were well short, we didn't look a threat, we weren't strong enough and we conceded a poor goal.

"In the second half I thought we were better in terms of getting up to their box and general play - we had a lot more of the ball, without a cutting edge.

"It was definitely an improvement on a very poor first half. But in the end you lose the game 1-0, which was a fair result."

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has heaped praise on striker Marvin Ducksch after his goal against Sheffield United made him the side's top scorer this season.

The German took his goal tally into double figures when he scored the opener in the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on Saturday, one more than the club's next highest scorer Jay Stansfield [9].

"He isn't that all-action player that you constantly notice in a game, he can look like he's not involved and then he can pop up," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"If he gets a chance, he's good finisher. He's scored goals when he's got chances. He's got that extra bit of quality.

"Around the box, that little moment of quality - they are things I can't get away from.

"They change games and we've got make sure we keep a hold of that and fit things around them."

Left-back Kai Wagner remains out with a shoulder problem and will miss the game against fellow play-off chasers Derby County on Saturday (15:00 GMT) but Davies is hoping for him to "push on" over the international break.

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

Listen to more Birmingham City content on BBC Sounds

Jobi McAnuff believes just five teams are fighting it out for two Championship play-off spots.

In the latest edition of the BBC's 72+ EFL podcast, Aaron Paul and McAnuff were joined by AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson discuss the top stories from the EFL.

Watford's 3-1 win over Wrexham on Tuesday opened the door for Southampton to take over the Welsh side's top-six spot - and they did so, winning 1-0 against Norwich on Wednesday.

Watford are ninth, five points behind the Saints with eight games to go, while Birmingham are a further two points behind in 10th.

McAnuff said: "Watford are still in the mix. I feel like seven points feels a bit too big at this stage of the season. Birmingham feels a little far away.

"Southampton are the ones I believed would come through and get a play-off place.

"A couple of weeks ago I'd have said there's only one place up for grabs (sixth). That's changed now, (fifth-placed) Hull have been really inconsistent so they have been brought into it a lot more.

"You've got Easter coming up, six points can go in a week. You have a quick turnaround. If you can put a run of games together you can really jump up four or five places in the space of a few days. Anyone down to Watford (can make it), Birmingham feels a little too far away at this stage."

Play-off chasers Derby County and Birmingham City will face-off at Pride Park on Saturday (12:30 GMT) in hopes of strengthening their promotion bids.

The Rams are just three points adrift of current sixth placed Southampton, albeit their goal difference will likely mean they won't be able to sneak into the spot this weekend even if results elsewhere do go their way.

While Birmingham have some work to do with seven points to make up and could find themselves out of contention soon if they can't find some much needed victories, especially on the road.

• Derby are winless in their last four league games against Birmingham (D2 L2), last having a longer run without beating them between 1996 and 2009 (7 games – D3 L4).

• Birmingham and Derby drew in this season's reverse fixture (1-1 on Boxing Day 2025), despite the Blues having their highest possession average (73.7%) and second-most shots (25) in a Championship match this season.

• Derby have won their last three home games in the Championship, while they last won four in a row in the competition in January-February 2021 under Wayne Rooney (4).

• Only Sheffield Wednesday (13) have scored fewer goals in Championship away games than Birmingham (15) this season. Indeed, the Blues have lost and failed to score in their most recent two (0-3 v Millwall and 0-1 v Charlton).

• Derby have the most Championship wins in games with fewer than 40% possession this season (12), including doing so in their most recent league outing (1-0 v Portsmouth with 32.5% possession).

Image source, Getty Images

There have been plenty of contentious decisions in the 2025-26 Championship season so far.

Offside goals given, perfectly good goals ruled out, red card offences missed, penalties not given, dubious spot-kicks awarded. You name it.

With the video assistant referee (VAR) only used for the play-off final, the outcome of every second-tier game in the regular season can hinge on how on-field officials see incidents in real time.

• Would you want VAR introduced for every league game in the Championship?

• If so, why?

• And if not, let us know your reasons.

You can share your thoughts on VAR here or comment below, and we will publish a follow-up article soon with a selection of your responses.