Birmingham City promoted from League One to Sky Bet Championship

Birmingham City have been promoted back to the Sky Bet Championship.

The Blues suffered relegation on the final day of the Championship last season, returning to League One for the first time in 29 years.

But they will be back in the second tier of English football next season after winning 2-1 away at Peterborough on Tuesday night.

Goals from Alfie May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman earned an immediate return to the Championship for the runaway leaders in what was a dress rehearsal of Sunday’s Vertu Trophy final between the two sides.

May: Dreams come true

Goalscorer Alfie May to Sky Sports News after the game:

“I received a text this morning saying I might be a Championship player.

“It’s just dreams come true, I never thought I would be in this position ever in my life.

“The feeling is amazing and to start the game and score a goal, it means a lot, very emotional.

“We’ve still got one more job to do and that’s to win the league.”

Bielik: Unbelievable season

Krystian Bielik to Sky Sports News:

“It’s been an unbelievable season for us. It’s not done for us yet. We are still pushing. There is still so much for to achieve this season, but it’s time to enjoy this day.

“I think every single Birmingham fan will remember this until their last days. For sure, we will. Honestly, this is for the fans. I’m glad to be a part of this.

“Last season, last game against Norwich when we found out we were relegated – that was the worst day of my life, honestly. And this moment where we all know we are promoted, we are back in the Championship next season, it’s a big relief.

“This club is going somewhere and I’m so glad and so happy for all of the people involved. I just cannot wait for next season.”

Davies: This team has been amazing

Birmingham City head coach Chris Davies:

“They’ve been amazing. We’ve put a team together from scratch, really – there were six or seven who stayed, but there were 17 new players.

“I coach them but I don’t overbear them, I let them gel and they’ve come together so well.

“They get on well, they’ve got a great spirit, but we signed good characters.

“For too long this club had players that weren’t the right character – they would let the club down, basically.

“But whether we win, lose or draw, you’ll always see a team that’s fighting and that’s what the fans ultimately want from their club and we’ve got that from this group of players.

“They’ve been exceptional because, don’t forget, every single game this season, home or away, they’ve been expected to win.

“There’s no team in the land that has had to deal with that every single week, we have and they’ve dealt with that brilliantly.”

Birmingham on track to make League One history

It has been a cruise to promotion for most of the season for Birmingham City. They have lost just three games all campaign, and could be set to break the record for most wins and most points in the third tier.

The record for points currently belongs to Wolves, who accrued 103 in 2013/14.

As it stands, Birmingham have 95 points after 40 games. They could still gain a maximum of 113 points this season, and need to take just nine points from their final six games to break the record.

Birmingham also have 29 wins so far this season. The record in the third tier is 32 wins, set by Aston Villa in 1971/72. The Blues need to win four of their final six games to beat that.

Could they beat the overall points record?

Birmingham are on pace to equal, and possibly break, the points record for an English professional league season.
That was set in 2005/06 by Steve Coppell’s Reading, who won the Championship title with 106 points.

Birmingham club records

95 points – new club record for most points in a season, beating 89 in 1994/95 Division Two under Barry Fry.
29 league wins – beating 26 wins in the 2006-07 Championship under Steve Bruce.

A Blues cruise in the third tier, but could they go back-to-back?

Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gholam:

“Such is the positivity that has swirled around St Andrew’s this season, it is easy to forget that this is a club that had just suffered a near-historic relegation to League One – their first spell in the third tier for nearly 30 years.

“Mistakes were made last season, especially in terms of management recruitment, but the new owners have been working hard to rebuild the relationship between club and fans that had dissipated during the previous era.

“While the owners have made their long-term plans clear to rejuvenate the club and area, they have also not forgotten the short term. St Andrew’s has been given a new lease of life, and the place feels buoyant again.

“Winning games has also helped, of course. A club that had spent the best part of a decade treading water in the Championship have cruised to promotion in League One.

“A lot of money has been spent on the playing squad, as well: £15m+ on Jay Stansfield, for example, is an unprecedented cost for a League One club. But the gamble has paid off, in the hope they were assembling a team that could immediately go on to try and compete in the Championship as well.

“It hasn’t been long since we’ve seen Ipswich achieve back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League. There is a growing sense among the Blues that something similar is on the horizon.”