It has been a wild few months for all concerned with Birmingham City Football Club, with the West Midlands side looking to put the past behind them heading into the 2019/20 campaign.

After an impressive start to the 2018/19 season, the Blues looked to be strong contenders for a play-off finish last term, before a nine-point deduction cruelly ended their chances of finishing in the top-six spots.

But things have gone from bad to worse for Blues, with top goalscorer Che Adams recently departing for Premier League side Southampton, just a couple of weeks after the shocking departure of former boss Garry Monk.

Nevertheless, Birmingham fans will more than know that life goes on, and the squad of players will be looking forward to a fresh start under Monk’s assistant Pep Clotet this summer.

With nearly three weeks to go until the start of the new Championship campaign, we take a look at what the players have been getting up to of late, as they fly out to Portugal as part of their pre-season campaign...

/">Odin Bailey

Blues kicked off their pre-season campaign with a friendly match against CD Cova Da Piedade on Thursday night, with Clotet's side being held to a late 1-1 draw against their opponents.

The night saw plenty of first-team players get their opportunity to impress the new boss, with youngsters Steve Seddon and Odin Bailey also starting from the off.

The latter recently took to Instagram to express his delight at getting his first minutes of pre-season under his belt.

Lukas Jutkiewicz

After the departure of Adams to Southampton, Birmingham fans will be praying that Jutkiewicz can step up to the plate and score the goals for them next season.

The towering forward scored 14 goals in all competitions last season, and he will be working hard in pre-season to ensure that he reaches the 20-goal mark next time around.

Here, the club pictured him practicing his finishing ahead of the first pre-season friendly.

Craig Gardner

Their 2019 hasn't been great to say the least, but Birmingham fans will continue to back their team until the death.

Plenty of Bluenoses have travelled out to Portugal to see their beloved team in action, and the players took time to recognise their support after Thursday night's encounter.

The fans will be relying on midfielder Craig Gardner to rally the troops and unite the dressing room this summer, and he was seen leading his teammates in signing autographs for those that have travelled.