Birmingham City complete 'sudden' appointment of new manager loved by Liverpool and Celtic

The 39-year-old checks in at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park just over two weeks after it was announced that Tony Mowbray had departed the role permanently, signing a four-year contract in a long-term commitment.

Blues’ meticulous search has finally reached its end and in a rather sudden nature. Over a fortnight of speculation threw up the names of Liam Rosenior, Alex Neil, Paul Heckingbottom and Frank Lampard among others but, just as it went quiet, Birmingham nabbed Davies.

Tottenham will now have to look for a new assistant to work with Ange Postecoglou, though it’s understandable that Davies has left as this is his first opportunity to become a head coach.

Who is Chris Davies, Birmingham’s new manager?

Davies, a former Wales Under-19 international before giving up playing and instead opting for a coaching venture, has around 14 years of high-level experience. The 39-year-old owes a lot to Brendan Rodgers as the FA Cup-winning boss hired Davies at Swansea City for his first big break in 2010.

From there, Davies joined Rodgers at Liverpool for three years until Jürgen Klopp arrived at Anfield. A brief spell away from Rodgers followed as Davies joined Reading for six months as a first-team coach but it wasn’t long until he reunited with Rodgers, this time at Celtic.

As assistant, Davies helped lead Celtic to a domestic treble for just the fourth time in the history of the Scottish giants. Nearly three successful years at Celtic Park ended with a switch back to the Premier League as Rodgers moved to Leicester. An outstanding spell saw the Foxes win the FA Cup and Community Shield before Davies left in April 2023.

The most recent venture has been away from Rodgers as Ange Postecoglou made a call that simply couldn’t go ignored. Tottenham Hotspur has been Davies’ home since last June but an opportunity to become an outright manager for the first time was too good to turn down.