Troy Deeney has waited a long time to make his Birmingham City debut.

He was a boy of seven from the Birmingham suburb of Chelmsley Wood when he first got taken to St Andrew's by his dad.

And when he told his family that he was finally going to sign for Blues, after a circuitous route that has taken 26 years via Chelmsley Town, Halesowen Town, Walsall, Watford and even Aston Villa's academy, he admits he actually had his uncle in tears.

He's been there in the crowd, amongst the Blues fans at the Tilton Road End, on nights when St Andrew's has been bouncing.

And now, at a time when Blues appear to be on an upward curve again, eighth in the Championship, having lost just four times in 15 league games since Lee Bowyer came back to the club as boss in March, there is a growing sense of local optimism - and Deeney admits he cannot wait to join the party.

"My aim is to get Birmingham City back to what it was," Deeney told BBC Radio WM. "To get people in this city back to see us performing again, if we can make St Andrew's the fortress it can be.

"We've all been here when it's rocking. Those are the games you want to perform at."

Deeney's Blues debut is scheduled to be after the international break at home to Wayne Rooney's Derby County on Friday week - and he knows what he would love to do, if only Derby's defenders, the match officials and the Blues stewards would let him.

"My shirt would be off and I'd be in there like Ryan Giggs," he said. "The very idea of scoring that first one for Blues at the Tilton End.

"It's not just having the family there, it's also the people I went to school with and see in the boozer. It's when they see you do it.

"I'd love that to be Friday night and for us to win it."
On the bus... in the pub... at the game

Deeney, now 33, can remember much about his first Blues game.

"I can't remember who we played," he said. "I was about seven, but I do remember Ricky Otto was playing and it was 'kids for a quid'.

"We got the 97 bus from Chelmsley, had a drink in the Royal George with my dad - no, not that sort of drink," he laughs. "And it was £15 for the family. That's what football was, going back in the day."

To return there as a player, Deeney has taken a pay cut.

"This contract is my lowest since 2011," he said. "My personal choice.

"I could have had more money elsewhere. But this was about the fit.

"I had some serious offers from some big clubs but this is the one that fits.

"We have the framework. You can see the quality we have here. Craig (Gardner) and the gaffer (Lee Bowyer) have done unbelievably well with their recruitment.

"But it's about keeping the standards. From November to February, that's the hardest part in the Championship. Getting through the gruelling months with limited days off because of the number of games you're playing."

Deeney has already twice won promotion from this tier and been a much-loved terrace hero with Watford. But, if he were to do it with Blues and end their 11-season stay back in the second tier, even for a man with his superb past scoring record against Aston Villa, his popularity on the south-east side of the second city would know no bounds.