Former Birmingham City coach Roy Aitken says there's a lot of work to do at St Andrews to establish the club as a Premier League regular.
Al Ahli coach Aitken, who was replaced by Peter Grant, says Carson Yeung had a pivotal role.
"They have to invest," he told the Sunday Mercury. "On the infrastructure, as the manager has gradually been doing, chipping away at becoming a proper Premier League club as far as infrastructure is concerned.
"By that, I mean the facilities, scouting system, Academy - it's got to improve to take the club forward. And, of course, there has to be investment in the squad.
"We put a squad together there that has a lot of pride about themselves and I'm sure the fans also were delighted that their boys put it in for the club last season in their performances and attitude.
"Now, you need that extra quality in there. The squad's crying out for that, the boys know that they need extra quality and the manager has been doing his utmost to try and bring it in.
"And it's not just to try and move Birmingham on, but to simply sustain the club in the Premier League short-term.
"Last season was the best ever in the Premier League, so it's always difficult to keep improving on that, especially with the investment made by other teams.
"To really get a solid position in the league consistently has to be the initial target for Birmingham."
