Before The International Break Elapses Birmingham City Boss Moved To Give A Crucial Instance On The Stance Of Their “Flop” Ahead Of Summer Transfer And He…

‘I’m convinced’ – Chris Davies defends under-fire Birmingham City star amid ‘awful’ form

One Birmingham City player is in particularly poor form at the moment.

Birmingham manager Chris Davies has defended Alfie May and insists the out-of-sorts striker will end his goal drought sooner rather than later.

May kicked off 2025 with a bang as he scored three goals in two games against Stockport County and Wigan Athletic but the attacker’s output has since paused, with no goals in his last 16 appearances across all competitions.

Granted, five of these have been cameos off the bench lasting less than 20 minutes, but May has had so many opportunities to put an end to his drought. His showing against Northampton Town on Saturday was a perfect example as May had two brilliant chances in his eight minutes on the field but scuppered both, seeing one effort saved and another drag wide of the far post.

As last season’s League One Golden Boot winner, May was meant to offer Blues a consistent scoring output but he’s faltered over recent months. It may seem harsh to point that out but the reality is he’s not been able to hit the heights expected of him.

A tally of 10 goals and six assists in 23 League One starts is by no means a poor output overall but May will be the first to admit a record of zero goals and two assists in his last 748 minutes of action does not reflect his usual standards.

May is a superb striker after all and he’s proved over the years how devastatingly clinical he can be at this level, impressing for the likes of Cheltenham Town and Charlton Athletic. Davies, proving himself week after week to be an excellent man-manager, has backed May to put this period of underwhelming form behind him.

“I think with Alfie – as always with all strikers you would say – it’s about getting the chances, that’s the most important thing,” Davies told Birmingham World.

“When Alfie goes on the pitch, I’m almost convinced he will get chances, so that’s the big plus. It’s when they’re walking around and you think, ‘when’s the last time he’s had a shot on goal?’.

“So, he’ll always get chances and when one goes in, there will be four or five going in – I’m sure about that.”

International break can reboot May

It’s been a strenuous start to the year for Blues with matches every Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday throughout January, February and the beginning of March. That’s a far from ideal schedule when you’re in a rut as there’s very little time between games to reset.

The international break is now here, though, so May and others struggling – whether that be with form or fitness – can reboot over the next week or two. It could be a crucial period as the action becomes relentlessly busy again once the international fixtures have come to an end.

Blues will play all 10 of their remaining League One games over a period of just five weeks, kicking off with matches against Shrewsbury and Bristol Rovers.

Following the trip to the Memorial Stadium, Davies’ men take on Barnsley, Peterborough United, Blackpool, Crawley Town, Burton Albion, Mansfield Town and Cambridge United to round off the league campaign – hopefully with promotion and the title wrapped up. The clash away at Peterborough on April 8 is particularly important as Birmingham play the Posh again five days later in the highly-anticipated Vertu Trophy at Wembley Stadium. Blues will want to get a good look at their rivals for silverware while not giving away too much about their own tactical approach.