Town defender Dara O’Shea says he is anticipating a tough match and hostile atmosphere as the Blues get their Championship season started on Friday night against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.

The two sides were two divisions apart last season but return to the second tier as equals following Town’s relegation from the Premier League and Birmingham’s League One promotion campaign last term.

The Midlanders blitzed their way to the title with an EFL-record 111 points and did not lose a single league match at their home stadium all season.

Town will aim to become the first visiting side to win at St Andrew’s in more than a year, and new club captain O’Shea says the opening day fixture is an exciting one.

“I think we’re in a really good place at the moment,” he said. “There’s lots of competition which is great for the squad, it’s going to push each other on.

“We’re going to start a tough campaign on Friday night. Everyone’s really looking forward to the season starting, getting going and having them run of games.

“The Championship is notorious for being chaotic with games, that’s something we’re really looking forward to as a group.”

Friday’s clash acts as the Championship’s curtain-raiser with the game being televised on Sky Sports, with upwardly-mobile Birmingham having grown significant external interest due to their new American ownership group fronted by American football legend Tom Brady and financier Tom Wagner.

In addition, a new fly-on-the-wall series titled Brady & The Blues focusing on the club was released just last week.

“I haven’t seen any of the documentary yet,” O’Shea said. “But there’s a lot of noise around the club right now with the new owners that have come in and they obviously had a really successful season last season.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game, obviously going to St Andrew’s is always tough no matter what. Really looking forward to it, obviously a great side so it’s going to be a tough opener for ourselves.

“You look at the teams who have come down, really strong, and the teams who have come up are really going to have a good go. This is what we love about the EFL, how competitive the league can be.

“There’s no-one you can put your money on straight away and say they’re going to go up, it’s going to be tight and it’s going to be tough.

“Whoever goes up this year is going to have to really deserve it and that’s what’s so special about it.”

Town are the bookmakers’ pre-season favourites for the Championship title but head to the second city as the underdogs on the night, with Friday’s hosts sitting as third-favourites for the division.

O’Shea said: “People are always going to have their opinions and that’s what football’s about. We obviously back ourselves to put in a good showing of ourselves this season and hopefully be at the right end of the table come the end of the season and to be putting our name in the hat to go to the Premier League.

“They’re going to be ambitious and I think [other] teams will be too. We’re going into the game with the ambition to win the game and not look further than that at the moment.

“I think it’s a good time [to play Birmingham]. First game of the season - let’s see where we’re at, let’s see where they’re at and have a go.

“We’re really confident at the moment, we’ve had a good pre-season and we’re just trying to take each game as it comes.

“People are going to say we’ve got a tough start but it’s a privilege to play these games. As a player, these are the games you want to play in so bring it on.

“I know what it’s like heading there, it’s always quite a hostile crowd. They’re going to be really loud on Friday night, they’re going to be excited to be back in the division and there’s a lot of hype around them too.

“It’s going to be tough for us, we’re going to have to try and silence that crowd when we can. Play our football, play our game, and hopefully come out on the right end of it.”

O’Shea is under no illusion that Town face a completely different challenge this year than in the Premier League last season when the Blues were the underdogs and expected to struggle.

This time around, Kieran McKenna’s side are one of the recently relegated sides to be shot at, with the favourites tag being something that the group will need to adjust to.

The Town skipper said: “It’s definitely a different feeling and something that we’re going to have to adapt to. It’s going to be hard at times and there’s going to be games where teams make it really difficult for ourselves.

“We’ve got to understand that going into the league that it’s not going to be easy and teams aren’t going to roll over for you and you really have to earn everything in this league. It’s important for us to understand that’s a possibility but be ready to go against that when it happens.

“We’re going to have to be consistent throughout the season. Whoever is in the top two spots at the end of the season are the teams that have been the most consistent and who have been able to adapt the most.

“It’s never a straightforward season, there’s always going to be ups and downs. It’s about how we can bring ourselves back to that happy medium that we know as a group.

“Just believing in our core beliefs and values, and hopefully our quality will shine through as well.”

On the inevitability of change following last season’s relegation, the Republic of Ireland international added: “It’s always a possibility, every season there’s changes in every team but especially when you step down a division players might move on.

“I think the club have been amazing keeping a lot of the players here, they’ve obviously shown their ambition for where they want to be and by everyone that’s still here shows they’re doing the right thing and pushing the right way.

“That’s where we want to be as players and that’s where they want to be so it aligns naturally.”

One of the most eagerly anticipated meetings of the Championship season will come around in early October when the Blues face Norwich City at Portman Road in the first East Anglian Derby of the campaign.

Having only joined from Burnley last season, O’Shea is yet to feature against the Canaries, but the 26-year-old knows the significance of the fixture.

“You come to any club and one of the first things you find out is who their rivals are,” he said. “You quickly hear about Norwich here, you know how much it means to the town and the fans.

“It’s going to be important for us obviously to put a good account for ourselves and a good showing and give the fans what they want. That’s something that’s been spoken about here for a while, it’s 16 years they say so hopefully we can put that to bed this season.

“Before that game comes there’s a lot of football to be played so we’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it and see how we get on then.”

Photo: TWTD

flykickingbybgunn added 14:17 - Aug 7 The Captain has said the "We are the favoutites for promotion". t Can you hear that Marcus Evans ? We are going through wonderous times. Savour every minute.
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blueboy1981 added 17:25 - Aug 7 It will be TOUGH - the Championship is a Tough GRIND - not for the faint hearted or injury prone for sure. As will soon be proved Home and Away.
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