What Tom Wagner previously said about Chris Davies' Birmingham City future as pressure resurfaces | OneFootball

The Blues boss is once again the subject of a potentially controversial sack call

Despite securing a welcome first victory in four games away at Preston North End on Tuesday night, it has emerged that Chris Davies' future as Birmingham City manager remains somewhat insecure.

The 40-year-old has overseen a major transformation of fortunes, performances, resources and expectation levels across just 16 months in charge at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park since being appointed, somewhat, out of left-field by vocal Blues chairman, Tom Wagner back in June 2024.

Davies has since earned a reputation of being one of English football's brightest up and coming and homegrown managers on the circuit, having previously honed his craft at some of Britain's biggest sporting institutions such as Liverpool, Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur as understudies to the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou.

It has been obvious to see why on many occasions, with the Watford-born man able to meticulously mould a new-look squad together in his first full season in a full-time managerial role in such a highly pressurised environment off the back of Knighthead Capital Management's hefty investment into multiple on and off-pitch elements at St. Andrew's.

After embarking on what was a record-breaking season in many ways last term, Blues haven't exactly had it all their own way since winning the League One title with a remarkable haul of 111 points whilst playing 60 games across all competitions.

Despite a raft of new high-profile players moving to B9 in pre-season across a ruthless summer window, the West Midlands side aren't living up to the expectations set by those on the outside.

Yet, whilst such a predicament has left Davies' long-term future up for debate, a recent statement from Wagner is likely to ease any personal fears for the Birmingham boss.

Despite winning several awards, such as LMA League One Manager of the Year, last term, it hasn't been smooth sailing for Davies since Blues kicked off their Championship term on August 8th with a 1-1 draw against newly-relegated Ipswich Town.

This was expected, in his own eyes, labelling those who thought back-to-back promotions were a dead certainty as "deluded", during a time when he came under immense pressure for the first time in the hotseat as Birmingham embarked on a run of one win in seven games across all competitions between late August and the October international break.

It has now been reported by Football Insider that Davies has been given two further weeks to solidify his position in the B9 dugout amid an inconsistent run of form.

That is, despite the fact, his side responded to a chaotic 3-2 defeat to Hull City on Saturday with a resolute 1-0 success against Preston on Tuesday night, ending the Lilywhites' unbeaten home record in the process.

Wagner has constantly stated his backing towards the former Spurs assistant, and this was particularly evident when the American hedge fund investor faced the press before the well-publicised 1-1 draw at Wrexham on October 3rd.

"I think it’s probably a bit of luck, probably a bit of new players coming into the squad and getting adjusted to the way Chris wants to play, recognising that no one stands still so some adjustments needed to be made," he said.

"Chris has the complete and total confidence of the board. Period. Full stop.

"We are focused on process and I am confident the process he is pursuing will pay dividends and we will be competitors. The vast majority of people understand that," Wagner claimed.

Of course, there have been moments so far where Blues have rightly been criticised for their performances, as well as being on the end of praise in other encounters.

A raft of new players, some of whom are still aclimatising to new surroundings, on top of injuries and suspensions, has made it rather challenging for Davies to field a settled starting lineup.

The performances of goal-shy Kyogo Furuhashi, in particular, have come under the microscope after a deal worth up to £10m for the Japanese striker was struck with Rennes in July.

Normally, an accumulation of 15 points from 11 games would be viewed as respectable for a newly-promoted side. However, such are the lofty ambitions that have been set out, as well as the global attention which Blues are receiving, they haven't fell into the aforementioned category.

Many supporters, though, would believe that making a managerial change, even in two weeks' time, would be rather rash, especially with the second tier being as wide-open as ever at present, as well as taking into account previous mishaps such as Wayne Rooney's disastrous reign which followed John Eustace's sacking 24 months ago.