Chris Davies reveals history lesson as Wembley beckons Birmingham City
Chris Davies has revealed he showed Birmingham City’s players footage of one of the most famous days in the club’s history – as they prepare to book another.
Blues face Bradford City in the semi-finals of the Vertu Trophy at St Andrew’s @Knighthead Park on Tuesday evening, knowing victory would see them return to the national stadium for the first time since 2011 and only sixth time ever.
Clearly this season’s priority has been promotion and an immediate return to the Championship – with Saturday’s win over Charlton putting Blues nine points clear at the top.
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However, Davies has always been mindful of the achievements of the last Birmingham City side to play in the third tier, which was under in 1994/95 when Barry Fry led the club to a league and cup double, with Paul Tait’s golden goal sealing the Auto Windscreens Trophy.
Davies has told the current generation about that and underlined the shot at glory that awaits if they can find a way past the League Two Bantams.
“If you ask the players, I was very focused on the games,” he said. “I changed some players, but when we played an under-21 team, it was a good opportunity to give people game time.
“I wasn’t dismissing the competition whatsoever. All the way through the group stage I was trying to build the habit of competing in every game.
“It’s been a good run for us in that competition. Early on, I tried to point out what the excitement could be.
“I talked to the players about what happened 30 years ago when we were last in this competition. I showed them the video and all the players have seen that special day for the club.
“Now they know it because they’re in the semi-final and I don’t have to explain any more. They know they’ve got a great chance to go to Wembley and we have to go for it.
“But Bradford are in form and one of the best teams in League Two so it will be a difficult game and a challenge.
“It [Wembley] would mean a lot [to the fans]. They’ve been through a lot and suffered a lot in the last few years, but now there’s hope for the future.
“That keeps people going. I’m cautious about jumping too far ahead because we have to earn the right to get there, but it would be wonderful for the fans and the club if we could do it.”
Davies has tended to use a mix of first choice and fringe players so far, with regulars like Christoph Klarer and Alex Cochrane starting in the last round against Stevenage, alongside Lukas Jutkiewicz and Luke Harris.
The manager hinted at a similar approach for the semi-final. “I’ll always try to pick the best team energy-wise and it’s a big game for us because we’re in the semi-finals of the cup.
“We have a chance to go to Wembley now – it doesn’t matter about the name on the cup.
“It’s exciting, it’s going to be a full house. We have players who are playing game after game, so we have to weigh up the energy levels of everyone and injury risks, and put the best team out that we possibly can.”
