Birmingham City fans are completely torn over Chris Davies situation after Watford comments | OneFootball

Davies' post-match comments after Blues' latest away defeat has sparked plenty of reaction

Birmingham City supporters have, once again, offered a mix of reactions to Chris Davies' post-match verdict of his side's latest defeat away from St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park at the hands of Javi Gracia's in-form Watford.

Having taken two points from home encounters against Derby County and Southampton in the lead-up to the New Year's Day encounter at Vicarage Road, ending the club's currently dire general and away form would have been extremely timely for the Blues boss, his squad and the travelling supporters.

However, they would be heavily frustrated once more as experienced midfielder, Thomas Ince, bagged a hat-trick for the Hornets, scoring one less in 77 minutes than the amount of strikes he had previously racked up in his previous 69 appearances for the Hertfordshire side.

Davies, of course, was not present on the touchline for Birmingham's sixth defeat in their past seven away matches in the Championship, having been dismissed in the second half of their controversial draw against Saints on Monday after Cameron Archer's equaliser.

The 40-year-old was given the vantage point of the press box for the 90-plus minutes in which his side rarely threatened to trouble their play-off chasing opponents, who were able to inflict revenge on a 2-1 scoreline in the Second City exactly a month beforehand, in what was also a much tighter affair between the two.

Davies has been under immense pressure to improve Blues' recent results, having gone winless since the aforementioned success against Thursday's opponents on December 1st, and is reportedly under the threat of the sack, with outlets claiming that Knighthead Capital Management have drawn up a replacement shortlist that includes ex-loanee and Manchester United midfielder, Michael Carrick.

Bluenoses have certainly made their feelings known as to how, in particular, there had been a complete contrast in performance levels in home and away fixtures, although the fact the club now sit joint-bottom of the form table paints an even clearer picture.

As such, it perhaps comes as no surprise that there was a split of opinions when Davies issued an apology to those who made the journey down the M1.

It has been well-documented that the Blues post is Davies' first full-time managerial role, having previously been an assistant at the likes of Liverpool, Celtic, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

Throughout his one-and-a-half years at St. Andrew's, he has received ample backing from Tom Wagner to reshape his squad, which certainly needs to be the case in the now-open winter transfer window if Blues are to make a late run for the top six, despite their current trajectory in terms of results.

Given his record-breaking first season in B9, Davies immediately became a cult figure amongst supporters, although such status is beginning to wane as his side are currently in the thick of a second dismal run of form after returning to the second tier as League One champions.

The stats from Vicarage Road showcased that, yet again, Blues rarely laid a glove on their opponents away from home, with only two of their six efforts testing Watford goalkeeper, Egil Selvik.

Speaking to official club media post-match, Davies said: "We just, collectively, were well short.

"There's a few ideas that I've got. Some (can be) revealed more publicly," he added. "There's things I've got to work on behind-the-scenes to make sure that we're having the right impact on matches as a team.

"From my point of view, we were well short of what's required. There's no doubt about that," Davies stated.

"You have to hold your hands up. I take ultimate responsibility for that because I'm the manager, obviously.

"I've said to the players it wasn't good enough. Well, well short.

"You know, you have to take responsibility when it's like that.

"I apologise to the fans for what they've seen today, because that's not a Birmingham City team that's, typically, since I've been here, been in games, and we were well short of that," said the Blues boss.

Unsurprisingly, there were some Blues supporters who failed to agree with such words, pointing towards the fact it is now nine defeats in 13 away matches this season.

Another Bluenose believes that Blues' below-par away showings are now starting to impact their performances at St. Andrew's, which doesn't exactly bode well.

Another supporter believes the heavy defeat should force Wagner into making a bold decision in the dugout.

However, not all were pinning the blame on Davies, with one fan believing others must alter their expectations.

One supporter has urged for calm to be restored in B9.

Another Bluenose believes that Davies still has plenty of strong potential to showcase which could improve results over time.

Coventry City fixture could be huge for Chris Davies' Birmingham City future

With Blues needing three points sooner rather than later, the visit of the league leaders to St. Andrew's on Sunday lunchtime would normally fill supporters with plenty of dread.

However, it will encourage Blues fans that Coventry City have endured a minor blip of late, winning just two of their past seven matches despite still holding an eight-point cushion at the top of the table.

Davies will also hope his side can make amends for their poor showing in the reverse fixture at the CBS Arena on September 27th, as well as their performance at Vicarage Road.