Homecoming hero: How Troy Deeney has reinvigorated boyhood club Birmingham City

‘Are you coming home yet?” It is a question that has proved inescapable for Troy Deeney over the past decade whenever he returns to Birmingham, and on Friday night the moment finally arrives.

Deeney had the Birmingham City crest tattooed on his calf in his teens and his homecoming has already produced a huge impact, galvanising the Championship club and banishing some of the negativity after four years of turmoil.

Last week, the club shop had to temporarily halt replica shirt sales as they had run out of the letter E.

It would not be Birmingham if Friday’s match against Derby was without some degree of chaos: Deeney will make his debut with two of the stadium’s stands partly closed due to repairs, a reminder that this club never seems too far from a crisis.

On Thursday night, in a welcome dose of good news, it was finally confirmed that the Upper Tilton Stand would reopen.

But, for now, Deeney leaving Watford to join his beloved Blues is the story to melt even the coldest of hearts and the atmosphere at a half-full St Andrew’s is going to be electric.

“It is something the club should have been doing before [signing me],” says Deeney, with typically brutal honesty. “I don’t want to get in trouble here, but I feel with the recruitment before, there was a lot of money wasted on average players.

“Clearly, there was money wasted and that’s why we are where we are today. We’ve had three years of finishing 17th, 20th and 18th, and that’s not good enough for a club of this size.”

Deeney has been a “Bluenose” for as long as he can remember: he grew up in Chelmsley Wood, six miles away St Andrew’s, and recalls jumping aboard the No 97 bus and piling into the pubs before kick-off.

His heroes growing up were Steve Claridge, Ricky Otto and Tommy Mooney. In 2011, he was at Wembley as a fan for the Carling Cup final win over Arsenal.

Playing for Birmingham was always a career ambition and it was manager Lee Bowyer who made the move last month, signalling the end of Deeney’s 11-year spell at Watford. He joined as a free agent and it is understood he has taken a significant pay cut, but this was never about money.

Unsurprisingly, the ticket requests from family and friends for Friday night are approaching triple figures.

“My aim is to come in, be the best version of me and I don’t want to stand on anyone’s toes too early,” says Deeney. “I’ve already got a reputation for being someone who will get in the mix, but when it gets to Friday night, I want to be ready to go.

“Under the new gaffer, and Craig [Gardner], everything is on the up, and, as players, we have to deliver. There is no hiding behind that.”

Deeney’s arrival has undoubtedly captured the imagination of fans and, for some, generated a sense of excitement that has been missing for too long. He was 33 in June but this feels like a new chapter for both Deeney and the club.

He departed Watford as a legendary figure, scoring 140 goals in more than 400 appearances, and there is hope that Deeney will have an equally transformative effect in the Second City.

Bowyer, the head coach, has also been significant in lifting the mood.

Since his appointment in March, he has banished the torpor of Aitor Karanka’s bewildering tenure and instilled an identity which the fans are on board with.

Recruitment has been sensible – with Manchester United loanee Tahith Chong impressing – and, most importantly, Birmingham are playing well. A win over Derby will take them into the top six.

The appointment of Gardner as technical director also seems inspired. A former Birmingham player and self-confessed fan, Gardner is like Deeney in that he “gets” the club.

It was Gardner who battered Deeney with calls and messages over the summer and he is also leading a revamp of the club’s structure behind the scenes.

Despite the recent wave of optimism, the concerns over the running of the club do not go away.

There was a popular departure at the end of last season when Xuandong Ren, the controversial chief executive, resigned under pressure from chairman Zhao Wenqing. Ren’s exit was widely celebrated by fans. Ren’s responsibilities have been taken over primarily by Zhao, directors Edward Zheng and Shayne Wang, and chief commercial officer Lungi Macebo, but the club’s administration remains under scrutiny.

Uncertainty still surrounds the identity of the major ownership, and who exactly is pulling the strings.

At a time when supporters are now allowed back into stadiums, the St Andrew’s fiasco is an embarrassment, despite Thursday’s development.

Two stands, the Kop and Tilton, have been closed for remedial work following an annual structure survey. Attendances in the league so far have averaged around 10,000.

The situation has infuriated supporters and it feels like off-field issues are continuing to sabotage any momentum.

Yet Deeney’s arrival, and the work of Bowyer, has given Birmingham’s players a siege mentality and the fans hope of a brighter future.

Whatever problems hang over the club, the motto “Keep Right On” will remain undimmed.