Davies sure Blues can challenge in Championship

Chris Davies says Birmingham's form has made him sure Blues can improve on their 10th-placed finish last season.

After picking up seven points from their opening five Championship matches Davies' side suffered a first defeat of the season at Norwich on Wednesday, their first in 11 matches across the end of last season and the start of this.

Before Saturday's trip to Derby, managed by former Blues boss John Eustace, Davies told BBC Radio WM: "We're looking more competitive. It feels to me we're close to being a really good team at this level, but we're just not quite there. We've got to keep pushing.

"We've had a really tough start with the fixtures. Once we get past the international break the fixtures certainly, on paper, get better for us.

"We have to come out of this period showing we can compete with some of the best teams in this league home and away."

Blues lie 15th in the table but have played Sheffield United, Bristol City, Wrexham, Southampton, Wolves and Norwich, who all harbour ambitions of fighting for promotion.

"I don't think anyone in the Championship had a harder start than us in terms of opposition," he said. "It's not an excuse it's a fact.

"We've got some decent results in this period - we've got to keep that same competitiveness and come out of it with a few more results and then we can really push on.

"I want us to be right up there. We've been competitive in every game, had some decent performances and results. We've acquitted ourselves well during that period but of course we want more points.

"We've been more consistent in our performance level this year than last year when we finished 10th. We've got to stick together and I'm sure we can have a better season than we did last season, from what I have seen so far."

Davies said he hopes Patrick Roberts and Jhon Solis can "play some part" in the game at Pride Park, which kicks off at 12:30 BST, after missing one and two games respectively through minor injuries.