Chris Davies owes Tony Mowbray for serious Birmingham City weapon | OneFootball

Paik Seung-ho has continuously been a key performer for Blues since his move in January 2024

At present, it is hard to ignore the strides of progress which Birmingham City are making on and off the pitch.

After years of false dawns, plans have certainly been put in place by Knighthead Capital Management for Blues to become a strong force at the very top of the Championship ahead of what the ownership group and supporters hope will be a first stint in the Premier League for the first time in a generation.

Performances at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park have certainly been analysed at length, such is the ambition held in these parts, although it is fair to say that the opening four months of the season can certainly be split into two parts from Chris Davies' point of view.

Yet, after a patchy run of form between August 30th and October 21st, during which only one victory was recorded against Swansea City, Blues have certainly begun to hit their straps in the past month or so, with a run of five wins, two draws and one defeat in the past eight matches doing enough to see their early-season woes in front of goal well and truly vanquished, as well propelling them to within touching distance of the play-off places.

A mixture of factors have helped Davies reignite a winning formula, particularly in B9, with the duo of Marvin Ducksch and Tommy Doyle starting to flourish in their respective centre-forward or midfield roles after breaking into the starting lineup on a much more consistent basis.

Monday night's narrow victory over Watford in dreadful conditions was a game in which many in royal blue emerged with credit for their performances. And, as well as setting Davies' side on the way to another three-point haul at St. Andrew's, South Korean midfielder, Paik Seung-ho, once again, demonstrated exactly why he is so highly thought of.

Chris Davies has Tony Mowbray to thank for Paik Seung-ho, Birmingham City transfer

Of course, it has been well-documented how much Blues have come on in such a short timeframe, with the club in a completely different position in numerous respects compared to the one which Paik joined from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in January 2024.

Indeed, he was one of three transfers made by Tony Mowbray after the experienced figure replaced Wayne Rooney earlier that particular month, with the Second City club well and truly on the slide towards League One football for the first time since 1995.

Mowbray's unfortunate situation at St. Andrew's was one which completely transcended football, though, with illness forcing the highly-respected boss to hand over interim management to his assistant, Mark Venus and later on, Gary Rowett.

Paik was still one of Blues' better-performing players following his transfer switch, although his goal on the final day of the campaign against Norwich City wasn't enough to escape relegation once more.

Since Davies' appointment, though, the 28-year-old has failed to look back, with it completely evident as to why the South Korean spent six years in Barcelona's 'La Masia' academy setup.

The 23-time international plays with a mixture of eloquence and combativeness which makes him a rare find, particularly in the English game, and, unsurprisingly, he was streets ahead of many League One midfielders last term as Blues romped to the title at a 19-point canter.

And, as the current campaign heads towards what many view as a season-defining period, which is looking the case for Blues as they begin to set their sights on the play-offs, Paik's influence in the side cannot be understated once again.

Last season, Paik formed an immense partnership with ex-Celtic midfielder and Japanese international, Tomoki Iwata, at the base of Davies' midfield, and he has remained a constant presence this term too, despite changes in the middle of the park from the Blues boss.

A lack of recent availability has seen Iwata moved out to right-back, whilst Paik has recently begun to feature alongside the aforementioned Doyle much more frequently, and it has the hallmarks of another strong partnership.

If there was one minor criticism which came Paik's way last season, it was a lack of goals to marry up his technical ability. Fast-forward 18 games, however, and those questions have certainly been answered.

In fact, all four of his goals have showcased a different side to his game.

A neat finish against Oxford United on August 23rd has been followed up by a stunning header against Portsmouth, a powerful drive against Millwall, and perhaps, his most impressive, which came against Watford in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Paik's 31st-minute opener against Javi Gracia's side epitomised his work rate and technical quality in one movement, strongly dispossessing Hector Kyprianou midway inside the Hornets' half, before stealing forward and firing a tremendous finish past the helpless Nathan Baxter.