Emile Heskey: Birmingham City must target play-offs after building Championship platform

Former Birmingham City striker Emile Heskey believes the Blues must target a play-off place or automatic promotion this season in the Championship.

Birmingham returned to the second tier last season after winning the League One title under Chris Davies, who led a revived, heavily funded squad to promotion.

Heskey believes the club’s priorities have changed after achieving what he considers the most important objective: establishing themselves in the Championship.

Davies’ side finished 10th last term and occupy the same position as league action resumes after the international break.

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Next step

They have won just two of their opening eight games, drawing five and losing one, and will be looking to turn those draws into victories when they travel to Midlands rivals West Brom on Saturday.

“I think that’s got to be the main aim for Birmingham this season,” Heskey told 10bet.

“Last season I was saying the most important thing for Birmingham City is to consolidate.

“The club needed to consolidate in the Championship after getting promoted and get to understand the division.

“They needed to give themselves a platform to build from.

“They’ve done that now, so the next step is pushing into the play-offs or for straight promotion.”

‘Football is not easy’

Birmingham took a more measured approach to recruitment this summer, bringing in fewer players and spending less than in previous windows under the American-led ownership fronted by Tom Wagner.

Jhon Solis made his move from Girona permanent after a successful loan spell last season, while James Beadle returned and Liam Millar joined from Hull City, both on loan.

Dael Fry joined on a free transfer, with Luis Vazquez, Kristoffer Lund and Max Bird also signing permanent deals.

Heskey believes building a successful club takes more than financial backing, warning that the scale and excitement of football can make running a team look easier than it is.

“Football is not easy,” the former Leicester City, Liverpool and England striker explained.

“People think, ‘Yeah, just come in and spend this money,’ and we’ve seen it time and time again here and abroad.

“You’ve got to build something with a foundation that will help you continue to build and continue with the platform.

“Football’s massive. It’s got this draw, it’s got this razzmatazz, it’s got this energy that people think they can crack and do something different and make it look easy… but you don’t realise how unique and difficult it is until you actually get in.”

Confidence

Heskey has also backed Jay Stansfield to rediscover his scoring touch, insisting the Birmingham forward must not allow a difficult spell in front of goal to affect his confidence.

Stansfield has scored once in eight games, but Heskey believes the quality is there for the 23-year-old to get back among the goals.

“I think Jay’s still got to stay confident,” he said. “He’s a fantastic player and he’s shown that.

“You don’t lose your knack for goals, you just lose the confidence sometimes, and you probably snatch at things that came more naturally before.

“So he’s got to get that instinct back.

“He might even be doubting himself, but you should never doubt yourself. You’re in that position because you’ve shown that you can do it time and time again.”

Heskey knows goals can come in spells for forwards and urged Stansfield to keep working through the lean periods.

“Sometimes they just come – sometimes they come in purple patches, sometimes they come for a whole season,” he added.

“As a player, your confidence goes up and down anyway. I think he just needs to stay confident.

“He knows he’s a great player, he’s been in the England set-ups and everything, so you don’t get there unless you’re elite level or have elite potential.

“Just keep plugging away.”

Emile Heskey’s comments were made in an exclusive interview with 10bet.

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