When Chris Davies could be sacked by Birmingham City amid Michael Carrick talk | OneFootball

Chris Davies must guide Birmingham City to victory over Southampton in their next fixture, with his job as head coach firmly on the line

Having been held to a 1-1 draw at home with Derby County, Chris Davies must find a way to victory when his Birmingham City side hosts Southampton on Monday night if he wants to save his job.

Birmingham City blew the rest of the competition out of the water in League One last season, amassing an EFL record of 111 points in the third tier on their way to the league title.

The Blues' title charge never appeared to be in doubt, with the signings of the likes of Jay Stansfield, Christoph Klarer, and Tomoki Iwata, to name a few, helping them along the way.

Ahead of this season, it was expected that the club would be fighting in the upper echelons for much of the campaign, with some people even predicting them to be in amongst the automatic promotion places.

However, it has not panned out that way yet, and after the halfway point of the EFL Championship season has been reached, the Blues sit in 15th place, with just one win in their last six outings.

Head coach Chris Davies is under immense pressure following this string of bad form, and following their latest 1-1 draw at home to Derby County, their home fixture against Southampton now looks to be a pivotal point in his tenure.

Chris Davies must guide Birmingham City to victory over Southampton to relieve mounting pressure

According to Football Insider, Davies had to guide the Blues to victory over both Derby and Southampton in the club's two consecutive home fixtures.

Indeed, having drawn against the Rams, despite the away side being reduced to ten men in the first half, Davies has already failed to reach that objective, and should he achieve anything other than a win in their Monday fixture with Southampton, his fate could be sealed.

The former Leicester City and Spurs coach did an incredible job to guide the club back to the second tier in emphatic style at the first time of asking, yet despite sitting just six points out of the play-off places, his job seems to be hanging on by a thread.

The Birmingham owners are said to be drawing up a shortlist of head coaches to replace Davies should they choose to dismiss him, with the January window on the horizon.

A large investment has been made into the Blues squad under the watch of Davies, who has yet to get the best out of his side, which may ultimately cost him his job should Birmingham come away with anything other than three points when they face Southampton on Monday evening.

Former Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick has come into the frame should Davies be sacked, with the former England and Manchester United midfielder being without work since his dismissal from Boro at the end of last season.

With the Championship being as competitive as ever, almost every team, aside from the current bottom four of Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich City, Portsmouth, and Oxford United, could make a case for achieving a top-six finish this season.

Even Norwich has now found a resurgence in form under Philippe Clement, as they are slowly clawing their way out of relegation contention.

Ten points separate 20th place from 6th place; if a side can put together a decent string of results, it could see them rapidly rise through the pack, such as is the volatility of the division.

Birmingham is no different, as should they defeat Southampton, they could go within three points of the play-off places once more, should results elsewhere go their way.

However, Birmingham has high aspirations, and should the owners and fanbase believe that Davies is not the person to guide them to those ambitions, then they will not hesitate to dismiss him.

The Southampton fixture is seemingly do or die for Davies, who knows he must achieve the three points, otherwise he will begin the new year out of work.

Carrick garnered a strong reputation for being one of the best up-and-coming head coaches in the country during his time with Boro, and could be set for a return to the club he played twice for on loan in 2000 should Davies be sacked.

The former midfielder may feel he has a point to prove in the Championship, and he and Birmingham could prove to be a match made in heaven.