Exclusive: Birmingham City lauded for big Chris Davies decision - despite shock Wayne Rooney call | OneFootball

Blues are set to return to the Championship and David Prutton has praised the club for their decision to hire Davies in the summer.

David Prutton has praised Birmingham City owner, Tom Wagner, for his decision to bring Chris Davies to the club in the summer as the team prepare for life back in the Championship.

Blues are currently nine points clear of second-placed Wrexham AFC, while they also have a game in hand over the Red Dragons, and their return to the second tier looks set to be confirmed sometime in April.

It's been an incredible season for the West Midlands outfit, and although it was highly expected that they would be comfortable towards the top of the table, execution of their plan was still needed - something that they have done superbly.

Birmingham are just 10 matches from the end of their short time back in League One, and Davies will want to end it as strongly as he started it and reward fans for their excellent support with the title and the EFL Trophy.

David Prutton issues strong Tom Wagner praise for taking Chris Davies risk with Birmingham City

The 39-year-old, who turns 40 on March 27, is still in the very early days of his managerial career, with Blues the first club that he has been entrusted to take charge of.

However, he is showing very few signs of inexperience and he has quickly moulded together a team that has not only taken the fight to the third tier, but has passed nearly every test put in their way.

Nevertheless, there was still a huge amount of risk involved in handing Davies the job at Birmingham and speaking exclusively to Football League World, lead Sky Sports EFL presenter David Prutton has praised Wagner for taking that leap of faith in the summer.

Prutton told FLW: "You've got a coach here, of course; Swansea City, Liverpool, Reading, Celtic, Leicester City, and Tottenham Hotspur. He's got plenty of experience under his belt working with some very, very top players.

"The first time he has been stuck out on his own has been at a Birmingham side that have found themselves at this level for the first time in a generation.

"But they have made very light work of it. Yes, you've got to look at the finances, the money that's been spent, but it's about being able to put a team together to live up to expectations.

"St. Andrew's has been at full capacity every home game. Teams turn up and raise their game because of the atmosphere and the fact that it does feel like a Premier League club in the wrong division.

"So, he's had to manage new players coming in, being a new manager himself, the responsibility and expectations of all Blues fans, and he's done it with flying colours."

Prutton continued: "Yes, you've got to look at the owners and say they deserve credit because they have done their due diligence. However, they did appoint Wayne Rooney with a remit of playing a certain style of football, and we all know how that ended.

"So, they have obviously learned from their mistakes and gone about it in a slightly different way from both the PR point of view and the type of manager that they brought in, or head coach that they brought in.

"But he's got many, many, many hours on the training pitch and he's worked with some very, very good players at some huge football clubs. So, somebody needed to give him a chance. Birmingham have done that, and it looks like they're going to reap the rewards."

Birmingham will be hoping for very little drama from now until the end of the season

Barring a complete nightmare, Birmingham should romp to the league title in the coming weeks and avoiding any unnecessary drama will be at the top of Davies' agenda from now until the end of the campaign.

Blues also have the EFL Trophy final to look forward to in April, and it could help cap off a remarkable year in the third tier, and will only increase their momentum as they head into the summer.

The off-season will be extremely busy as work still needs to be done to help get the squad ready for the Championship, but Davies must have some time to reflect on a successful first term in management if his side pulls through and take the league title.