Birmingham City given clear stadium warning by former Aston Villa man | OneFootball

Birmingham City may need to be careful not to get ahead of themselves with their plans for a new stadium.

That's according to Dion Dublin, who believes that the Blues should instead be focusing on results on the pitch between now and the end of the season.

Following the takeover of the Championship club by his Knighthead Ltd company back in the summer, their new chairman Tom Wagner has shown plenty of ambition for the club.

As well as some eye-catching signings in the transfer window, Birmingham have also made some significant managerial changes over the course of the season, that have not always worked out.

Now, fresh plans have emerged to suggest that Wagner is also looking to further expand the club off the pitch, in the years to come.

Birmingham plans for new stadium unveiled

Last week, the club announced that they had purchased land in Bordesley Green, with the view to performing a number of renovations in the area.

One of the additions to the land that they are looking to introduce, is a new state of the art stadium, with a 62,000 capacity.

That is of course, something that will generate a great deal of excitement for fans of the club, given the spectacle it could create.

However, Dublin believes that there are other things that Birmingham City need to address first, before really making moves to build such a ground.

Dion Dublin reacts to Blues stadium plans

Perhaps not surprisingly given the size and significance of the project, there has been plenty of talks around the prospect of a new stadium for the club.

However, Dublin is unsure whether that will work out for Blues, if business is not done correctly on the pitch first.

Responding to questions about Birmingham's plans for a new ground, the former Aston Villa striker was quoted by Birmingham World: “Birmingham fans will love the chat around a new stadium.

“They'll love the new stadium, but if the here and now is rubbish it might never get to that. If what happens off the pitch is all positive and it's working, it's great, but when it’s not going well on the pitch it doesn't matter.

“It's got to be right when you go over the white line, so I'd walk before I could run if I was at Birmingham, if I was a fan I’d want them to take it step by step and go from there.”

Birmingham still in a relegation battle

Of course, the Blues are still fighting to avoid relegation to League One between now and the end of the season.

With three games of the campaign still to be played, Birmingham currently sit 21st in the Championship table, just a point clear of the relegation zone.

They are next in action on Saturday afternoon, when they make the trip to the New York Stadium to take on already-relegated Rotherham United.

Birmingham need to be wary with new stadium plans

It does feel as though this is a rather fair assessment of the situation from Dublin.

Of course, you can't blame Birmingham City for having plans like this, since it would be a major boost for them to secure a stadium of this nature.

Indeed, the scale and statement having an arena of this size would send out, means it is something everyone connected with the club would surely relish.

However, it appears this ground will not be cheap to build, which could put Birmingham under pressure financially, and may force them to reallocate funds from other areas of the club.

That could be even trickier if they suffer the financial blow of being relegated to League One. If they are at that level when the stadium opens as well, then it may be hard to fill, and even more challenging to make a return on their investment.

With that in mind, it feels as though this could be a big few weeks for Birmingham, not just with regards to their Championship status, but also for some of the big plans Wagner has for the club.