Craig Gardner makes Tom Wagner revelation after “disastrous” Birmingham City moment

Craig Gardner, Birmingham City’s Director of Football, has disclosed the exact words that Tom Wagner delivered to him subsequent to the club’s relegation from the Championship last season.

The Blues are on track to reclaim their place in the second division at the first attempt. Their margin at the summit of the League One table has increased to 14 points after they defeated Stevenage 2-1 at St. Andrew’s on Tuesday evening.

Chris Davies’ team is mere weeks away from achieving promotion to the Championship, and he deserves a significant amount of credit for assisting the West Midlands team in taking the initial step toward their ultimate objective of returning to the Premier League.

On Saturday, Birmingham will travel to Northampton Town in an effort to cement their position as the division’s dominant force and to advance in their pursuit of the League One points record, which is currently held by Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Wanderers achieved the title with 103 points in 2013/14.

Tom Wagner is terminated by Craig Gardner subsequent to his relegation.

Blues’ relegation feels like a lifetime ago to many supporters, with this season instilling belief back into the foundations of St. Andrew’s and placing the club back on the map.

Although this is merely the beginning of this voyage, it is imperative to acknowledge the significant progress Birmingham has made in the past decade, which commenced immediately following the final siren against Norwich City in May 2024.

Gardner, a former player and Director of Football, disclosed Wagner’s remarks to him subsequent to the Blues’ confirmation of their third-tier status.

In an interview with Birmingham’s match day program, Blues News, he stated, “It was a truly depressing experience for me.”

“I can remember sitting there in my seat after the game, all the spectators had gone and I was just thinking, ‘This is disastrous.’

“And then I saw Tom Wagner strolling over. He sat with me, placed his arm around me and said, ‘Are you OK?’ I was just like, ‘No, not really!’ And his immediate response was, ‘Don’t worry.’”

Gardner continued: “I said, ‘Tom, we’ve just been relegated, what do you mean don’t worry?’ And he said, ‘We are going to make sure we give you what you need to get this club back into the Championship, to get this club back into the Premier League, and to place this club where it deserves to be. And you are going to lead that.’

“When you look at that moment, that is proper leadership from an owner to come down and make sure that, A, I’m OK, and B, to spell out just where we are going.”

 

Birmingham are showing no symptoms of easing down this season

Blues tasted defeat in the league for the first time since November last week against Bolton Wanderers, but they have responded admirably with back-to-back victories over Lincoln City and Stevenage.

Promotion is within reach, and it appears exceedingly likely that they will secure their return to the Championship at the start of April, something that will gratify both Gardner and Wagner as they seek to right the wrongs of last season.

Davies will not allow his Birmingham to show any indications of complacency, however, and League One clubs must expect Blues to be operating on all cylinders from now until the final kick of the campaign as they advance closer to the league title.