![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/briandick.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBirmingham City are gearing up for life back in the Championship after winning League One<\/p>\n
Birmingham City correspondent for the Birmingham Mail, journalist with 20 years experience, lover of most non-animal, traffic-related sports and extreme cold water<\/p>\n
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Keshi Anderson takes a selfie as Birmingham City celebrate winning League One<\/p>\n
Few Birmingham City players deserve Championship status more than Keshi Anderson.<\/a><\/p>\n The winger\u2019s Blues<\/a> story is a heart-warming one. Handed a trial two years ago to prove his fitness, Anderson earned a contract and has since become a key player under Chris Davies.<\/a><\/p>\n Only the imperious Christoph Klarer<\/a> denied Anderson the Player of the Year award following Blues\u2019 record-breaking season in League One.<\/p>\n Anderson has bounced back from adversity time and time again during his two seasons with Blues.<\/p>\n Having been an impressive mainstay at the beginning of the 2023\/24 season, Anderson injured his hamstring against Queens Park Rangers in September and spent three months on the sidelines.<\/p>\n He was out so long that he missed virtually all of Wayne Rooney\u2019s ill-fated tenure and he didn\u2019t see much of Tony Mowbray\u2019s stint for different reasons.<\/p>\n Mowbray preferred other options and there was even a possibility for Anderson to leave in January 2024, but the winger stayed put and eventually worked his way back into the line-up for the final four matches under Gary Rowett.<\/p>\n Blues went unbeaten in those four games, but it wasn\u2019t enough to avoid relegation to League One. Maybe if Anderson had been used more Blues wouldn\u2019t have gone down.<\/p>\n Blues only lost two of the 12 Championship games Anderson has started for them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had played a little bit more it probably wouldn\u2019t have ended that way,\u201d Anderson said during an interview with BirminghamLive in April and it\u2019s difficult to disagree with him.<\/p>\n The point Davies always makes when discussing Anderson is how reliable he is. Davies noticed that Anderson played in Blues\u2019 meaningful end-of-season games in 2024 and that told him more than any highlights package could.<\/p>\n There wasn\u2019t much doubt that Anderson could thrive in League One, it was the way in which he matched the level of the stars around him that caught the eye.<\/p>\n Get the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone<\/p>\n BirminghamLive has its very own Birmingham City<\/a> WhatsApp community to deliver the latest headlines straight to your phone. Just click this link<\/a> to receive daily Blues content and breaking news. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. Click on the name at the top of your screen while in WhatsApp and click ‘Exit Group’. Read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n And yet still we wonder whether Anderson can make the step up. The signing of Demarai Gray has elevated Blues\u2019 wide options to a whole new level and it\u2019s down to Anderson to match it.<\/p>\n The scepticism comes from Anderson\u2019s Championship history. Four goals and four assists in 32 games for Blackpool across 2021\/22 is the only season where Anderson has truly shone in the second tier.<\/p>\n Davies believes Anderson can go again and there is a train of thought that he is a more rounded, more durable athlete now.<\/p>\n Only Ethan Laird offered Blues more dynamism than Anderson last season. He looked quicker by the week.<\/p>\n Anderson commented: \u201cTo be fair, I\u2019ve always been one of the quickest in the team \u2013 a lot of people don\u2019t actually think that!<\/p>\n \u201cI am more durable, I think that comes with the games I played last year and the work I put in in the gym when I was injured. I tried to better myself in terms of strength and being able to sprint better with my running technique, and be more flexible.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you get older, you need to take a little bit more care of yourself.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, the way that the team has been looked after by the physios and the sports science department, they have been top and kept me where I needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone is expecting Gray to come in and take the left-wing spot he vacated almost a decade ago, but maybe he won\u2019t find it that easy.<\/p>\n After all, Davies values the strength of the machine over the quality of any individual, and Anderson fits the system perfectly.<\/p>\n \u201cSelf-belief is one of my strongest points,\u201d he adds. \u201cA few of the boys banter me about having a bit of an ego but self confidence is important. There\u2019s never a moment in my football career where I doubt myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson has proved Blues are better with him than without him over the last two years. Why would that change now?<\/p>\n![\"Birmingham](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1752401833_3_0_JS364403258.jpg\")
Birmingham City winger Keshi Anderson<\/p>\n