There’s one team in this season’s Championship that really aren’t getting the credit they deserve after a rip-roaring start to the campaign, and that’s Birmingham City.

Under Gary Rowett, the Blues have had an extremely solid start and following the international break, they sit sixth in the division.

20 points from their opening eleven fixtures means they’re in a good place going forward and there seems to be a buzz of optimism going around St Andrews, which is richly deserved.

Rumours of a takeover are circulating once again and if that finally goes through, this could be an extremely exciting chapter in the history of Birmingham City.

With all this in mind, we think there is no reason why the Blues can’t continue their strong form all the way until the end of the season.

So here’s THREE reasons why Birmingham City can continue their play-off pursuit in a bid for promotion to the Premier League.

Squad depth is good

Post-February was a really poor spell for Birmingham last season as they lost too many games. They dropped into mid-table come the end of the campaign.

That was very much down to a lack of quality throughout the whole of the squad but this time around, you feel Rowett has much more depth at his disposal.

The likes of Reece Brown, Diego Fabbrini, Paul Caddis and Stephen Gleeson are all struggling for game time when in seasons past, they’ve featured pretty heavily.

That is a really good thing for the Blues - the fact they have players of this quality to come on to change the game.

Summer signings look strong

You’ve got to give Gary Rowett lots of credit for the way he conducted his side’s summer transfer business.

Despite an extremely limited budget in comparison to other sides in this division, the likes of Che Adams and Ryan Shotton have been absolutely fantastic.

There is plenty more to come from Diego Fabbrini and Greg Stewart, who are both pushing for first-team starts.

The summer signings have made a real difference to the quality of this team.

Optimism from supporters

In the very recent past, it’s safe to say Birmingham City fans haven’t had a massive amount to cheer about.

There has been turmoil off the pitch for years now but more recently, the team are giving the supporters plenty to cheer about.

It feels like matters on the pitch are taking precedence for a change and that is always a good thing when it comes to football.

If they can triumph over Aston Villa later this month, it could get even better for the Bluenoses.