Blackburn Rovers manager Valerien Ismael has admitted that the Championship will be stronger next season when the likes of Birmingham City and Wrexham enter the fray with their 'big budgets'. Ismael took over from former Blues boss John Eustace at Ewood Park in February and, after a slow start, he oversaw a run of four straight wins at the end of the campaign as Rovers just missed out on a play-off place. He will now prepare his squad for the new season, his first full campaign in charge, of the belief the second tier next term will be even stronger because of the quality and the ambition of those sides coming up, led by Blues whose 111 points tally made them the most successful EFL club in history this term. "We want to continue that way with the players we have," Ismael told the Lancashire Telegraph. "Just as I said, not to start from nil. In the summer, just to have that chance, to have a clear pre-season. With that stability, if we can add the quality we want into the squad, then we will be able to compete. "We know how the Championship is. Next season will be a really tough league again. From the Premier League, the curve is coming up. From League One with Birmingham and Wexham, then we'll have more teams with a big budget for sure. "So it will be a big competitive league again. So we have to be clever. We have to be strong in our way to play. We have to be clear when the first matchday is coming which way we want to go." What do you expect Blues to achieve next season? Tell us HERE Everyday, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Birmingham City content. Our dedicated reporters Alex Dicken and Brian Dick - you can follow Alex on X here and Brian here - follow Blues around the country and they offer you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Blues newsletter here. You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Blues team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories and insight from in and around the club. If you prefer reading our Blues stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Blues as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here. Our weekly Birmingham City podcast, Keep Right On, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.