Chris Davies has put Birmingham's away record at the centre of their promotion push. He said the away form was “pretty glaring” and added that the Blues need to score more goals and keep more clean sheets if they are going to clear the Championship hurdle.

Birmingham's away numbers and the jump in level

The concern is backed by a sharp drop from last season. Birmingham were unbeaten at home in 2024-25 and took 50 away points from a possible 69 as League One champions, but last season they managed only 20 away points from 69 in the Championship, with five wins, five draws and 13 defeats on the road.

They also scored only 18 away goals in 23 Championship games, with one of those arriving via an own goal and another from the penalty spot. Davies has pointed to the final-third problem too, saying the structure is strong for the first two-thirds but the team “run out of punch” later in attacks.

Davies wants a different away approach

Davies is not asking for Birmingham to become one thing and stick to it. “I've got no loyalty to a style of football. I don't care how it looks. I don't care what people say. I want to win and I've got to work out the best way to do that. That's my job,” he said.

He also wants more variety on the road. “I want to us to keep putting pressure on the opposition, but I want us to get the ball forward quicker and use our set-pieces and counter-attacks more.”

There is already one sign that the message can travel. Birmingham opened this season with a 1-0 League Cup win at Swansea, and Davies said the last three away games, plus the draw at Swansea, gave the side a template. He added that they have drawn two, won one and should have got something at Ipswich.

Birmingham finished 10th in the Championship in 2025-26, nine points shy of sixth-placed Hull City and 31 adrift of champions Coventry City. Davies is treating away form as the clearest thing holding them back, and the first real road test of that plan came at Swansea.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →