Birmingham City has had a poor return to the Championship, with the club expected to finish mid-table this season.

Normally, it would be a reasonable return for a freshly promoted club, but given the extent of investment made in Blues over the last 18 months, it’s fair to say they’ve underperformed this season.

Naturally, the focus is on Chris Davies for this. While the Birmingham manager was rightfully praised for their record-breaking campaign in the third division, he has faced criticism this season, particularly in recent weeks.

Defeats to Blackburn and Ipswich over the Easter weekend meant they had lost three in a row, and looking back further, Blues had only eight points in their previous ten games.

Birmingham City told to fire Chris Davies following unsuccessful play-off bid

So, there is lots of debate about Davies’ future, and when asked by FLW whether a change was required, Birmingham fan commentator Jason Moore was certain that Davies must be fired, telling the hierarchy that if they don’t make a change, they risk creating a poisonous environment.

“He has to go. I don’t understand how anyone can defend the guy at this time. He is not the man to lead us forward.

“We’ve gone from a club with a losing culture, and to be fair to Davies, he came in, improved the standard, and laid the groundwork, but that’s where we stop now. I believe we are approaching a point where it will become toxic, which I do not want for him since last season was wonderful, and nobody can take that away from him.

“But you can’t invest this much in a squad and finish 16th. Don’t get me wrong; the players must accept responsibility because they have not performed well.

“One thing that bothers me about Davies is that he was supposed to be pragmatic to win football games, but he isn’t! He has only one manner of playing the game. If it doesn’t work, he just substitutes similar players in the hopes that they will contribute. It’s simply not good enough.

“He has one plan, and if he deviates from it, we’re doomed. Derby was an example of this, as he attempted to play a back three with Ibrahim Osman as a left wing-back, and we were terrorised.

“I pray for him and the board to make a decision so that it does not become toxic. Just let the man go out on a high, since even Davies’ most ardent supporters are struggling to rally behind him.

Just move on; let’s go in a different path, bring someone else in, and go again.

“Another problem for Blues, they want to sell season tickets on the condition that we compete (for promotion), but you’re not going to sell them and earn the revenue, which we need to spend like we have been, if Davies is in control. People will refuse to renew if he is in charge.

“We’ll go backwards with Davies in charge. The only way it could get better is if he received a transfer budget of £30-40 million, but why should he? I could go on forever about this, but at the end of the day, Davies cannot be our manager next season, and they must announce it before the end of the season and begin the process.”

Chris Davies will know that he is under pressure at Birmingham City.

Blues are a tremendously ambitious team, with their US owners investing heavily in the club to strengthen the roster.

Obviously, a new stadium is in the works, so this is a club with big ambitions, and it’s not just about getting into the Premier League, but also about establishing Blues at the top level.

As a result, this season will be considered as a failure, which is why many fans believe Davies should leave.

It’s not as simple as that, though; Davies does have credit in the bank, but how long it lasts is ultimately up to Tom Wagner and those making the judgments.

With little to play for, you’d expect Davies to finish the season, and he’ll be mindful that a successful finish may mean the difference between being in the dugout for the first game of next season.