Dion Dublin acknowledges that Birmingham City's future under Knighthead Capital looks to be exciting - but the Blues' performances on the pitch must also live up to the ambitious plans that the club's ownership have announced.
Blues and Knighthead announced earlier this month that they'd purchased the old Wheels site in Bordesley Green as plans were revealed for a new Sports Quarter on the edge of the city centre, which would cost in the region of £3bn, generate up to 3,000 jobs and benefit local businesses as well as provide Blues - at all levels of the club - with a new state-of-the-art home.
Tom Wagner outlined the intention for Blues to relocate from St Andrew's by 2029, but in the meantime the club are fighting a regrettably familiar battle on the pitch; they remain a point above the relegation zone with three matches left to play, ahead of a crucial away day double header in Yorkshire against Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town - two of the three clubs beneath them in the table.
For former Aston Villa and Coventry City forward Dublin, who recognises why the Blues fanbase should be heartened by Knighthead's aspirations to thrust the club onto a global scale, he indicated that it is crucial that the club are in a position to compete at the right end of English football by the time they are ready to move into their new home - and that, in the first instance, Messrs Wagner and Brady take care of the club, something for which there is already an abundance of evidence of.
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"Birmingham fans will love the chat around a new stadium. They'll love the new stadium, but if the here and now is rubbish it might never get to that," Dublin told BoyleSports, who offer the latest EFL betting. "If what happens off the pitch is all positive and it's working, it's great, but when it’s not going well on the pitch it doesn't matter.
"It's got to be right when you go over the white line, so I'd walk before I could run if I was at Birmingham, if I was a fan I’d want them to take it step by step and go from there. They need to get out of the rut they are in because you can tell the fans are a little bit annoyed even though they pick up wins now and then.
"I think the fans just want a bit of stability. Giving a manager for two or three years and let him try and create something, but the fans will always be there. They'll always fill their stadium because they are so loyal, my best pal is a Blue and he is a bit frustrated at the moment, but under the right system they can turn it around.
"I don't think the fans get excited, by having huge names attached to the club, especially the Blues fans - I think they'll get excited about how Tom Brady treats the club and how he treats the fans because they are a big club, but patience is running thin among fans and whether you're Tom Brady or Tom Smith, they just want to see the club treated right."
Blues are being guided in these remaining league games by Gary Rowett, who has returned on an interim basis after Tony Mowbray revealed that he had received a medical diagnosis which required a period of treatment and ruled him out of working for the remainder of the season. Between Mowbray and Rowett, Blues are looking to reverse the regression in performances and results under the handling of former boss Wayne Rooney.
Ex England striker Rooney took over in October with Blues in the top six, but he was sacked after the New Year's Day defeat at Leeds United, after securing just two wins in 15 matches. It's left Blues fighting to ensure their Championship status remains in tact.
"For Wayne Rooney at Birmingham it looks like it just could’ve been the wrong time for him in the role. It didn’t marry up when he was there," Dublin added. "Maybe he needed a bit more time in the role or maybe he needed more experience and could’ve had another role in between, even though he had some good results at Derby.
"I think that Wayne is going to find the right club. The word process is used a lot nowadays but there is an element of truth being that everybody needs time – and managers don’t get a lot of time these days."
