EFL pundit Don Goodman has called on Birmingham City owners Knighthead to show patience towards manager Chris Davies after what he described as 'a solid first season back in the Championship'.
Blues have broken up for summer following an arduous 50-game campaign across all competitions, which saw the club finish 10th in the Championship. Their season outcome was boosted by a five-game unbeaten run at the end of the campaign, where Davies adapted his style to secure results.
Birmingham City were unashamedly targeting promotion at the outset, and while they never threatened to realise that ambition, Goodman views their season positively. He told Parimatch Casino: 'I understand 10th place is not what Birmingham City wanted. They were very open, almost brazenly so, about their ambition to reach the play-offs. When I say that, I am not talking about the manager, but the hierarchy. They made it clear that was the target.'
'I do not know how the hierarchy will assess this season or Chris Davies, but I hope they are patient. I hope they give him an opportunity to continue building. Not many clubs are patient enough to allow head coaches the time to build, but the foundations are there. They have a good Championship squad. If they can add a few bits of quality in the summer, the foundations are there for Birmingham City to kick on and go again.'
'I just hope the hierarchy looks at this, on reflection, as a solid season for a newly promoted team. However, the jury is out because we have seen them make rash decisions in the past, such as the one involving John Eustace and Wayne Rooney. We are in the dark for now, but I hope Chris gets a full pre-season and a summer transfer window.'
'Tenth place is not to be dismissed. There were parts of the season, particularly early on, where I thought they might push for the top six because they looked like a better team than I expected. That momentum fizzled out, but they went again in January after adding several new players. They had a strong run of results that eventually slowed down before they finished with this unbeaten streak.'
'Overall, if you simply assess the fact that they were a League One team that came up, competed, and secured a top 10 finish, it is a solid first season back in the Championship.'
