Derby County midfielder Robbie Savage can't see former club Birmingham City achieving anything special this season.
Blues potentially stand again on the cusp of the good times after the superb 2009-10, but Savage said he didn't think they could kick on.
"Birmingham were always going to be what they were, when I was there," he said. "They were always going to be 10th.
"They tried to move on to that next level. They got the likes of Emile Heskey, Mario Melchiot, Muzzy Izzet and we weren't the same because we were all about that spirit Brucie created.
"When we tried to move on to the next level it didn't happen and I always knew that we wouldn't go any further, so I had to go and further my career elsewhere. I wanted to go and play for my idol, Mark Hughes, and there were family reasons as well.
"Is that always going to be a problem for Birmingham? They're going to be in a transition whereby they finished ninth - we finished 10th - and you try and move on. It's whether you can.
"No disrespect to Birmingham, or teams like them, if you want to move on to that next level you have to be a Tottenham or an Everton.
"I think Birmingham will always be a ninth, 10th team. That's the best they can ever do. That's how football is at the minute, I'm afraid."
