Now for the nitty gritty.
After the pulsating FA Cup tie and the plaudits for Blues performance against Leeds United comes the bun fight that is the Championship.
Blues head to in-form Norwich City on Saturday then it’s to Millwall in midweek as the final, decisive leg of the scrap to secure a top six finish begins.
Blues are in the mix with 14 games to go, in a concertinaed division.
They key to where they eventually end up now rests on maintaining a high level of performance and consistency, and an improvement away from home.
Blues not only have to be more robust, not least on their travels, but need to be more clinical in the remaining matches, too. The statistic that they rank fourth for big chances created but third worst for big chances missed tells a story.
It is fair to say that Blues have come out of the transfer window with a squad that, on paper, looks better equipped with upgrades in options than the one that went into it.
All the new signings, following on from Jonathan Panzo’s highly capable performance in the penalty shoot-out defeat against Leeds, have shown their hand. The jury may still be out on August Priske as he seeks to bed in, but the others have certainly brought an added, energetic enthusiasm.
The shoulder injury to Paik Seung-ho is a cause for concern. And Tomoki Iwata, who sat out the fourth round tie in the FA Cup due to management of ailments, is also another key performer Blues have to have available.
The Leeds encounter was a cracking game. With the heavy pitch, Blues in the throwback penguin kit and a packed crowd roaring on often ferocious play, it had the feel of classic English cup tie of yesteryear.
Blues were outstanding in the first-half. Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri kept them in it.
It was a compliment and a measure of Blues oomph that Daniel Farke changed his system and brought on Ethan Ampadu to try to wrestle back control after the interval.
They did that, and went ahead through a thumping strike by Lukas Nmecha, who was shown to be offside in the build-up. With no VAR the goal stood, the tie continued apace.
Patrick Robert’s deflected equaliser in the last minute was the least Blues deserved for their endeavours and then there was still the added-time drama of Ibrahim Osman hitting the post and Kanya Fujimoto’s follow up heroically blocked by Jaka Bijol.
The match could have gone either way as it continued its rip-roaring way in extra-time and sadly for Blues a very good save by Perri from Tommy Doyle’s spot-kick and Roberts hoisting his over the crossbar enabled Leeds to squeak through.
There were echoes of the FA Cup clash against Newcastle United a year ago. Another grand occasion, another match that captured the attention throughout.
This time, though, Blues not only went toe to toe with a Premier League side (and last season’s Championship title winners), but they had them hanging on often and were unfortunate not to have won.
Understandably, the display has fired bullish expectation that Blues will replicate this game by game and bump off all challengers for a top six spot.
If only it was that easy.
This team was remodelled last month and whilst, for example, the options out wide are bountiful and dynamically dangerous and in Solis they have hit upon that enforcer they needed, most of the season Blues have been near yet so far.
Is that suddenly going to change? Obviously we all hope so, but perhaps where Blues are is what Blues are at this stage of their development after being in the third tier last season; the likelihood is that they will be all the better for it in 2026/27.
The outstanding work at St. Andrew’s has been offset by wretched performances away from home.
To imagine Blues will go to Carrow Road and trample all over Norwich, then Millwall, on the basis of that rumbustious FA Cup showing is a bit of a stretch.
The FA Cup tie was a chance for underdog Blues to bare their teeth, live on the television. It was an event, a one-off occasion.
It will be back to the relative mundane on Saturday and Blues face two very difficult away tests than they did at Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday during their unbeaten sequence.
However, it promises to be a fascinating next couple of months into May. Blues form has picked up since the debacle at Watford on New Year’s Day; the team has changed and certain faults have been addressed.
What we would give for the kind of stirring run Blues went on back in 2002 under Steve Bruce.
Blues, with new additions Stern John, Oliver Tebily, Jeff Kenna and Damien Johnson helping to revitalise them along with Darren Carter’s emergence, went 10 games undefeated to finish the season and overcame Millwall in the play-off semi-finals before promotion, via penalties, in Cardiff against Norwich City.
They were consistent and built momentum and came through unexpectedly, in many respects, to reach the top-flight after a 16-year absence.
