David Prutton claims Birmingham City “have the foundations” to mirror Ipswich Town ascent
Birmingham City are currently excelling in League One and appear poised for an immediate return to the Championship.
With a strong squad, an ambitious manager, and a club undergoing significant restructuring off the pitch, could they replicate Ipswich Town’s achievement of securing back-to-back promotions?
Football League World spoke exclusively to David Prutton to obtain his insights on the Blues’ potential trajectory.
David Prutton: “Birmingham City have the potential”
“They are quite simply tearing up League One,” Prutton told FLW. “They’re a big football club that for the first time in a football generation has found itself back in that particular division.
“They’ve been able to tool up resolutely to make sure they get themselves out of the division at the first chance, and all eyes drawn on the hefty fee paid for Jay Stansfield. The collective is very much where we’re seeing a really good team first and foremost, and a really good squad after that.
“Tomoki Iwata has been fantastic, players jump out like Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Alfie May, players that have collectively performed under a boss in Chris Davies, who is no stranger to coaching very, very good players.
“But you do get the sense of ambition of striking out on his own, and being able to create a team in his own image from a footballing point of view, which is exactly what they’ve managed – hence the points total they’ve been able to accrue and the gap between themselves and the playoff places.
“They’ve also got the chance to win at Wembley, which I think at times historically has given teams the chance to kick on and get themselves promoted at the end of the season.”
| The League One table (as of 3-3-25) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Birmingham City | 32 | +35 | 76 |
| 2 | Wycombe | 33 | +26 | 64 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 33 | +20 | 62 |
On the Blues’ double-promotion hopes, just under 12 months on from Ipswich Town achieving the same feat, Prutton said: “Whether they could do an Ipswich? Now therein lies a very intriguing question, because, as we know, Kieran McKenna and his side came up not as Champions, and therefore climbing into the Championship with perhaps a little bit less expectation.
“The real question for them over the course of the season was, could they keep it up? Oh my god, with bells on they kept up and through find themselves right now in the Premier League.
“So I think Birmingham City have the foundations for that. I think off the pitch it’s looking a lot more settled than it has done in a very long period of time. That is a club that’s being rebuilt with the type of personnel that is qualified for success, so I presume they will be aiming pretty quickly for the Premier League.”
There was realism from Prutton on the league that awaits Birmingham City’s return next season: “Hopefully not in an impatient way, because you know that the Championship is brutal and tough and can be very unforgiving, and there’s many a team that’s come with aspirations of blasting their way through it.
“But I think on first sight right now, yes. The Ipswich side that was put together had some real tangible EFL experience, and the fingerprints of managers that had been there previously. Paul Cook being one of them, with the players he brought in that were then galvanised under Kieran and performing under Kieran, and thanks to some shrewd loan signings, they managed to get themselves over the line.
“I do think Birmingham City have the potential to do that – but let’s be brutally honest, there will be three teams coming down licking their wounds, looking to get back into the Premier League, and there’s an abundance of clubs with the size and stature of the Blues to try and fight it out and get into the Premier League by the end of next season.”
