Birmingham City chief Garry Cook has made a “must do better” admission after seeing Blues relegated to the third tier on the final day of a season which started with so much promise.
Cook, Blues chief executive, released a statement in the wake of the 1-0 victory over Norwich City at St Andrew’s.
Paik Seung-ho’s 55th-minute winner became irrelevant because of wins for rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn at Sunderland, champions Leicester and Hull respectively.
It means Blues will be playing in the third tier for the first time in 30 years after 13 seasons in the Championship and four last-day brushes with relegation in the last 11 years.
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Cook responded by saying: “Today was a disappointing day for our football club, as our stay in the Sky Bet Championship came to an end.
“I deeply regret that in some areas we have fallen short of the expectations we all had for this season. Some mistakes have been made and we will learn from them and take the necessary actions to ensure they never happen again.
“It has been a difficult season for our supporters, and I want to thank you all for your loyal and unwavering support of the team, right to the final whistle today. You have reminded the football world why a full St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park is such a unique experience.
“Despite the outcome of today, I want to reassure you that we have an executive leadership team that knows we must do better. The foundations are being put in place to ensure our Club will come back stronger.
“We have the full support of Tom Wagner and Knighthead Capital Management LLC to invest in the team, technology, people and infrastructure. Tom stated at the recent April Blues Open House that his ambition is for Blues to be in the Premier League, competing against the best teams in the country. Relegation will not change or dampen this ambition.
“I know you are hurting, everyone at the club is, but let me stress there are great days ahead for us all. We are Blues. We may lose, but we are never beaten.”
