Inside Birmingham City as Tom Brady-backed Blues eye Premier League: 'There's only one aim'

Birmingham City are back in the Championship after a season down in the third tier, and the Tom Brady-backed Blues know their assignment: Promotion to the Premier League.

Last term, the Midlands club collected a record-breaking 111 points on the way to the League One title, all captured by Amazon Prime cameras in the 'Brady and the Blues: Made in Birmingham' documentary. And they will be there once more this term to capture the action as Chris Davies' side make an immediate push for the top flight.

Speaking to Mirror Football ahead of this Friday’s season opener against Ipswich Town, defender Ethan Laird said: "It's brilliant [the documentary]. It’s something new for us all. You know even though we’ve come from our respective clubs and experienced different things, it’s still crazy having a camera follow you most of the time.

"It’s something that you have to get used to. And you have to almost be normal around it because when the camera’s in your face, it’s a bit weird because every action you do, you look at the camera. Obviously you get used to it.

"It’s different but it’s fun at the same time. I’m also glad that you get to see it inside. You don’t see everything we get up to but it’s nice because I feel like a lot of people are missing now in football when they have no clue what they do. It can make people think things."

No one is resting on their laurels at St Andrews, with this season's target clear, both in the boardroom and the dressing room.

Laird added: “It’s something that we want to achieve. We’ve had an amazing season, a record-breaking season. We’ve done the job we needed to do.

“But there’s a lot of Premier League teams in the champ - that’s what some people are forgetting. As much as the hype is around Birmingham, I love it, but it’s going to be tough. In the Championship, you can lose games like that and win games like that.

“It’s about the quality and moments and that’s why we love the Championship. That’s why this season will probably be the most difficult season we’ll ever have. For the way we want to play, ambitions we have. People said a lot about us last year and we still overcame. People are going to say a lot about us this year, let’s see if we can overcome it.”

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Jay Stansfield played a key role in restoring Birmingham back to the second tier. He plundered 23 goals last term following a club record move from Fulham - which destroyed third tier records.

“We know what we want to achieve," says Stansfield. "We’re improving as a club and there’s only one aim this season. We’ll get on with it. People will be talking but hopefully at the end of the season, it’s just good things.”

Stansfield, 22, spent five years with Fulham ahead of his £15m move to St Andrews, while Laird is a product of the Manchester United academy. He never managed to make a first-team appearance at Old Trafford in the league but believes that the spotlight with the Red Devils compares to the glare of the Amazon cameras.

“It’s very similar [Birmingham and Man United]. I came up at Man United when we were the biggest club in the world.

“They had morals and even on the back of our badges as kids, it said ‘relentless’. We had to look at it, understand that word and it was almost subconsciously in our head. No matter what happens, you’re sprinting back 60 yards and snapping a guy. And these things were installed in us early.

“And then the main stage was meant for that. There were a lot of things we had to get used to and that’s the way we were raised. And now when I’m in Birmingham, it’s looking the same. And the ambitions are going to be high.

“You hear what Knighthead say, you hear what the gaffer says, there’s a buzz around the club. Everyone can feel something happening, something brewing. And that doesn’t just happen. Which means that Birmingham are going to be what they say they’re going to be, it’s just a matter of when.”

Birmingham begin this Friday as they welcome Ipswich - relegated from the Premier League last term after their own back-to-back promotions - to St Andrews.

The game comes just under six weeks after England beat Germany in the under-21 Euros final, where Stansfield played a key role for the Young Lions. Instead of enjoying an extended break, he was determined to return as soon as possible.

“A lot of people have asked why I came in straight after the Euros but I wanted to get myself mentally and physically ready for the season. My mentality is that I wanted to just carry on and get into that rhythm again. I didn’t really want to stop before the start of the season to make sure I’m totally ready for Ipswich.”

A fellow arrival at Birmingham last summer, Christoph Klarer, was also key to Birmingham’s return to the second tier. The Austrian defender made 43 appearances for the Blues last term and has been leaning on the expertise of NFL icon Brady, who is a minority stakeholder at the club.

“It’s very special for us having someone like Tom with us giving expertise having been at the highest level for so long," says Klarer. “Every time he speaks, we listen. And we can take a lot of information from his career and what he did to be so successful.”

Birmingham have bolstered their chances of success with significant moves in transfer market. Former Premier League winner Demarai Gray, ex-Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi and Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle are among their headline arrivals. And Klarer believes their additions can make a major difference.

“We’ve got very high standards here and they’ve gelled very quickly with the team. In addition to them being quality players, they’re great people as well.”

But Laird warns that American investment and lucrative transfers are not what will get Birmingham promoted to the Premier League. Having found a home at St Andrews, he is sure the stories of hardship that each of his teammates have been through will be the driving force behind another successful season in front of the cameras once more.

“There’s stories in football. The reason we’ve got to the places we have is because we’ve been through those tough times and persevered. We have family who have been in trouble, family who have unfortunately left us. We have to deal with those because we’re human and that’s what drives us.”

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