Again Tom Wagner Blows Hot On The “Shameful Relegation” At The Blues And Vows To Be The…

Revealed: What Tom Wagner told Craig Gardner right after Birmingham City were relegated

Director of Football Craig Gardner gave an in-depth interview to Birmingham City’s official programme Blues News before the Stevenage match on Tuesday

Craig Gardner has revealed the pick-me-up conversation with Tom Wagner moments after Birmingham City’s relegation that set the club up for League One domination.

Blues’ time in the third tier looks set to be short-lived with Chris Davies’ side on course to win promotion back to the Championship next month as champions.

The club is a world away from where it was last May when relegation from the Championship was confirmed, despite a final day victory over Norwich City.

Davies arrived and a clear-out followed with Blues acquiring 17 new players – many of whom will be tasked with competing in the second tier next season.

Blues owners Knighthead, which is of course headed up by Wagner, bankrolled the biggest spending spree in League One history to sign the likes of Christoph Klarer, Tomoki Iwata and record buy Jay Stansfield.

Gardner, who has recently been promoted to Director of Football from technical director, has overseen the transformation from last season to this. And the wheels were set in motion right after relegation was confirmed on May 4.

“It was a real low moment for me,” Gardner told Blues’ match day programme Blues News. “I can remember sitting there in my seat after the game, all the fans had gone and I was just thinking, ‘This is disastrous.’

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

“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 put 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.”

On Blues’ ownership group, Gardner added: “I talk to them two or three times a day, every day, and the care they have, not just for the players, but for the fans, for the city, for the people, for the staff, for absolutely everybody, it is amazing and you don’t come across that very often.”