Former England and Premier League great, Emile Heskey, has tipped former Reading coach Chris Davies and his Birmingham City side to 'take League One by storm.'

Heskey, with over 100 Premier League goals and 62 England caps, spent two years with Blues 20 years ago as part of a 22-year professional career.

Down in the third tier for the first time in over 30 years, the big hitters are expected to bounce straight back with heavy funding from new US owners.

Former Reading youngster and coach, Davies, is undertaking his first managerial role after spent years as assistant to Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglu at Liverpool, Swansea City and most recently Tottenham Hotspur.

"I think Birmingham City can take League One by storm, 100 per cent," Heskey told OLBG. "They’ve got the new manager in Chris Davies so he will need time to work with the team and try and hit the ground running.

"He's worked under some of the best managers out there. He's worked under Brendan Rodgers, he's worked under Jose Mourinho and more recently with Ange Postecoglu, so I think they've got a very, very good chance. 

"They've arguably got the best infrastructure there, ready to just bounce straight back up. When you look at Ipswich, maybe they could even do the same by bouncing back up and then go straight back up into the Premier League as well.

"I do believe they've got a really good manager in terms of his philosophy and they've got a fantastic support network in the sense that the fan base is getting behind them.

"They're a realistic fan base as well. So they'll get behind them, they'll be pushing them for them to get back up straight away."

Ruben Selles takes his Reading side to St Andrew's on the opening day of the season, with the game televised live on Sky Sports.