Jay Stansfield and Demarai Gray react to 'shocking' decision involving Birmingham City star | OneFootball

The high-profile duo were the scorers of several impressive goals for Blues last term

Birmingham City will be hoping to leave a significant mark on the Championship's promotion scene in the upcoming year or so under Chris Davies, with the club's pre-season preparations now in full swing.

This time last year, many were swept up in the hype which surrounded Blues after their record-breaking League One title-winning season under Chris Davies.

However, it was fair to say that, on occasions, Davies' side were met with the harsh reality of Championship football, as they didn't exactly generate the consistency which was required over the course of a 46-game campaign to challenge for the play-offs for a sustained period of time.

As such, the pressure will firmly be on the club to finish inside the Championship's top eight this time around, due to a restructure of the play-off format, and Birmingham have already made two signings this summer, whilst Davies has outlined the type of players he will be looking to target.

Beforehand, there had been smatterings of exit talk at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, and that included the high-profile duo of Demarai Gray and club-record signing, Jay Stansfield.

However, both appear to be fully focused on the task at hand this season, and have issued their thoughts on a decision involving one of their colleagues.

Demarai Gray and Jay Stansfield react to Alex Cochrane, Birmingham City decision

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Birmingham's inconsistent season was, in some ways, summed up by the form of Gray and Stansfield, with both capable of producing moments of brilliance on occasions, before enduring dry spells of output.

The England youth international striker hit double-figures yet again, but only two of his strikes came in 2026, while Gray, after suffering an injury issue, found it hard to displace January loanee, Ibrahim Osman, from the starting lineup.

That said, Blues did enjoy some eye-catching runs of form, and this was particularly evident in November and early December, where they won four games in six, putting four past all of Portsmouth, Millwall and Norwich City in B9 in the process.

In the second of those, Alex Cochrane's first-time volley was named Goal of the Season, but it's fair to say that his colleagues had something to say about the award, when in conversation with Will Brazier on the club's Blue Rising YouTube show.

When asked about Cochrane's goal getting in front of some of his standout strikes, the winger replied: "Shocking decision.

Elaborating on his own output though, Gray added: "Them goals were nice for the highlight reel, but for me, it's scoring more tap-ins that will add to my goal tally and help the team more.

"That is part of my game, and everybody knows what I like to do. There are still lots of areas for improvement in terms of varying my game, and the Championship's a bit different.

"Every game is different, so adapting to the circumstances of the game. But I'll focus on being as fit as I can and trying to deliver what I can do best," he explained.

Demarai Gray and Jay Stansfield will be full of motivation to succeed with Birmingham City

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Stansfield, in particular, has attracted plenty of attention through his price-tag, but, like Gray, will be fueled with motivation to help Blues try and achieve a better league finish in 2026/27.

As Gray alluded to, he did net some fine strikes against the likes of Southampton, Middlesbrough and Watford during the aforementioned purple patch, but found it tough afterward.

The academy graduate, who returned last year on a free transfer, had an exit clause in his contract which has now expired, and he was off the mark in pre-season against Huddersfield Town in Portugal last Friday.

Stansfield missed the encounter with the Terriers, but is reportedly set to play some part against Solihull Moors on Wednesday, which has been brought forward to a 5:30PM kick-off in the 'Arthur Cup', commemorating the life of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, to ensure there are no clashes