"Big inspiration" - Jay Stansfield reveals Tom Brady impact on Birmingham City squad | OneFootball

Jay Stansfield has outlined his thoughts on the impact of Tom Brady on the Birmingham City squad.

Birmingham City striker Jay Stansfield has been full of praise for Tom Brady ahead of a huge FA Cup tie against Newcastle United.

Relegation could’ve been a big setback for the new Birmingham owners, but they have taken it in their stride by investing in a promotion-capable squad, including a big-money move to bring back Stansfield from Fulham permanently.

The Blues look set to earn automatic promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, as they lead the way in first place. Chris Davies’ side have been impressive since a heavy round of investment from the owners in the summer.

With Davies now at the helm and under new ownership, the Blues have certainly shown ambition and the first shoots of a potential start of an exciting new dawn had begun to spring last year, even if relegation undid some of the good work initially.

Jay Stansfield's Tom Brady admission

Although promotion is the main aim for Blues this season, and they are firmly on course to do that, with the side sitting eight points clear of third place, they could and should be excited for so much more to come under an ambitious ownership group.

Questioned on what it has been like under the Knighthead group and Tom Brady, star striker Jay Stansfield explained his thoughts and the inspiration that the NFL star has brought to the dressing room on more than one occasion.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of their FA Cup tie against Newcastle United, he said: "They have all been amazing. Last year, I remember having a zoom call in a hotel.

"He sat us down as a whole team — I think it was the game before Rotherham — it was a massive game and we needed to get three points, and he did a massive motivational speech.

"He's a big inspiration to a lot of people and to have him so close to the club, as such a motivator, to be able to deal with things and deal with the pressure and everything that he's gone through.

"To be able to put it into young players, like our team, is such a great help."

Birmingham City's ambitions

Next year will be a bigger test of their obvious ambitions as the Championship is such a tricky league to compete in.

But they have built a team that already looks like they could avoid relegation or any concerns over going back down in 2026.

That said, Birmingham will still be looking to establish themselves in the second tier next term by consolidating their position before eventually solidifying themselves as a mainstay and looking to punch up the league fairly swiftly.

Stansfield is likely to be key to both their short and long-term future, both in getting to the Championship but also in sustaining their place. Next up is that game against Newcastle, where Davies, Stansfield, and co. can hope to cause an upset.

The two sides will meet this evening in a 17:45 (BST) kick-off at St Andrews @ Knighthead Park, where Blues will be looking to put on a show for the cameras and upset the odds against a side situated two divisions and 45 places above them in the English footballing ladder.