Birmingham City have secured their place in the EFL Trophy final at Wembley after a hard-fought victory in the semi-finals. The Blues, who have impressed throughout the competition, will now have the chance to lift silverware under the famous arch. It marks a rare cup final appearance for the club and offers a welcome boost in a challenging season.
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00:00Charlie, Birmingham City off to Wembley, an amazing occasion for them and first time since
00:07that incredible League Cup win over Arsenal all those years ago. This sort of marks how
00:13far they've come. Maybe I know it's only a trophy that they probably will never want
00:17to be competing in again for the foreseeable, but the prospect of a Wembley trip for any
00:23team is always fantastic, especially if you haven't been there in such a long time. Firstly,
00:29what does this mean for them? We spoke about it before, the prospect of a couple of trophies
00:34rather than just the Ligue 1 trophy come the end of the season. I mean, this is a big occasion
00:39for Blues fans and something certainly they can be excited about.
00:42Absolutely, and you could sense that excitement within St Andrews the other night. It's a
00:47very late, dramatic win as well. Lyndon Dyke scoring the 88th minute, a fantastic header
00:52from a Tomoki Iwata cross. I've not really seen St Andrews bouncing like that ever since
00:56I've been there and I've seen some incredible atmospheres. The keep right on, the rendition
01:01before the game, after the game, amazing as well. The forever true by U2 as well, blaring
01:06out through the speakers. Chris Davies said as well that it was the best atmosphere he's
01:10experienced from Blues fans. He's also admitted that it's probably the pinnacle of his career.
01:15He's been to Wembley many times. He's been promoted in the playoffs with Swansea. He's
01:20won the FA Cup with Leicester City, both as an assistant. He went now with Liverpool in
01:24the semi-final of the FA Cup against Aston Villa about a decade or so ago. He knows what
01:29it's like, but being a manager, it just gives that extra feeling for him. He's got the excitement
01:34and I think the whole squad as well, just having that extra focus this season. Not the
01:39league one's easy, but you'd always expect them to go and win that. To have something
01:43like a domestic competition, it might not be one of the biggest, like the FA Cup or
01:47the Carabao Cup, but it does have that extra layer. Then the trip to Wembley, what a day
01:52out that's going to be. You mentioned the 2011 League Cup win over Arsenal. Definitely
01:58not of that scale, but just having those memories to create, it adds an extra layer, doesn't
02:03it, and really helps them around. So, very exciting day for them, but still two months
02:07away yet.
02:08Obviously, how important is it that they also remain that focus on the league one title?
02:16It looks like they are going to be pressing and I'm sure the odds will suggest that it's
02:19highly in their hands at the moment. That's also another fantastic step forward in the
02:24right direction for these new owners and the fans to get behind this new project as well
02:28if they are to go and win the league one trophy.
02:32Focus is paramount. They might well be six or so points clear with a couple of games
02:36in hand on those, challenging them. Wickham might have fallen away now. It might only
02:40be Wickham that are challenging them for the first place, but they can't let that slip
02:46in. They need to get wins here and there. Davies sees them every single game now as
02:50a cup final. The more wins they get sooner rather than later, the quicker they can secure
02:55promotion, the quicker they can try and get that title, and then they can really focus
02:58on that game at Wembley.