Birmingham City chiefs must heed Ipswich Town, Sunderland warning: View | OneFootball

The Blues will be doing all they can to avoid a lengthy stay in League One, and must learn from others' mistakes

Highlights

Birmingham City will play in the third tier of English football for the first time in 30 years next season, as the Blues look to recover from Championship relegation in the previous campaign.

You have to go back to 1994/95 for the last time the Midlands outfit competed at such a level, with three Premier League promotions, one League Cup and a European campaign under their belts in the time since.

Chris Davies’ side will have high hopes heading into the upcoming campaign, with their sights firmly set on an immediate return to the Championship, but they only have to look at recent history to realise that task isn’t always as easy as first thought.

Ipswich Town and Sunderland are the latest examples of sides who have found themselves marooned in the third tier for longer than they hoped, and City will be looking to learn from their foes’ mistakes before the 12 months ahead.

Birmingham City will be hoping to avoid Ipswich Town, Sunderland repeat

Of course, there have been the sides that have earned an immediate return to the second tier over recent seasons as well, with Blackburn Rovers proving that bouncing back can be achieved if things are done right following relegation.

But Town and Sunderland - as well as Leeds United a bit further back - are some of the most high-profile cases that have seen fans endure a miserable time in a division lower than they would like; with weeks turning into months, and slowly into years in the doldrums.

The Tractor Boys might be about to embark on a first Premier League season in over 20 years, but just 24 months ago, they were looking ahead to a fourth successive season in League One, having failed to adequately adapt to the rigours of football further down the pyramid.

It was a similar state of affairs at the Stadium of Light, with the Mackems’ failing to conquer the play-offs in two of their first three seasons after relegation, before finally winning the end-of-season lottery at the third time of asking to earn a return in 2022.

The Bristol Street Motors Trophy, FA Cup first round ties, the target on their backs as the side everyone ups their game for; these are all things City will have to endure in the next 12 months, and they will have to adapt quickly if they are going to hit the ground running.

The third tier has plenty of sides capable of challenging for the automatic promotion spots in the upcoming campaign, with fellow relegated sides Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United both likely to harbour their own ambitions of not hanging around in League One longer than they have to.

The likes of Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United will be looking to avenge last season’s play-off disappointment, while the promoted sides from League Two will also be looking to keep their momentum going, and will be aiming for more success in the year to come.

Wrexham, Stockport County and Mansfield Town will all be more than capable of challenging in the top half of the table, while Crawley Town can be world-beaters on their day, just as we saw in last season’s play-off campaign.

Chris Davies appointment has Birmingham City on right track ahead of League One campaign

The appointment of Chris Davies [pictured, left] as City boss looks to be a shrewd bit of business this summer, as the Blues take a new-look approach into their League One campaign.

The St Andrew’s side have rolled the dice on the former Tottenham Hotspur coach, who is taking on his first full-time role as first-team manager, and are already making moves in the transfer window.

Speaking about the recruitment of players after his arrival, Davies said: "There's a lot of work going on in terms of identifying targets, assessing current players that we have based on observation and the data we get provided.

"What's important for me is that I navigate that process with the right level of calm.

"We are being proactive and looking to get business done, to bring players in, but at the same time we understand that it's a process that will take time to reassemble a squad that stays with us not just for one season, but two or three.

"There are a lot of people working very hard behind the scenes and, step by step, we will get there and build a really, really good squad."

That sort of level-headed approach will be a breath of fresh air for Birmingham fans, after the trials and tribulations of the previous 12 months, where four managers came and went across the course of the season.

From John Eustace, to Wayne Rooney [pictured], to Tony Mowbray, and then Gary Rowett, none of the quartet could help their cause, with City’s fate sealed despite final day victory over Norwich City.

The Blues have already added experienced campaign Ryan Allsop to their squad this summer, with the former Hull City goalkeeper a trusted figure between the sticks, while sights have been set on a number of other top EFL performers.

The Blues are said to have a £20 million transfer kitty this summer, and have been linked to the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Marc Leonard, as well as Plymouth Argyle defender Dan Scarr.

That sort of calibre of player are exactly what the Second City side should be targeting this summer, although it will take a lot of strong management from Davies to ensure the squad comes together to play the sort of football he wants.

The difference between City and the likes of Sunderland and Ipswich before them seems to be the feeling of togetherness around the team this summer ahead of their big challenge, with the rebuilding job rejuvenating a side who had struggled in the second tier for season upon season before their eventual demise.

That sense of togetherness is something that really needs to be mined into over the coming 12 months, with a shared belief between fans, players and owners likely to see the club stick together through the setbacks along the way.

It’s safe to say it will be anything but straightforward, but the early signs suggest the Blues are in a better place than those before them to pull together in the following campaign, and bring smiles back to the faces of those in the stands once again.