John Ruddy insists he has plenty left to give after a Birmingham City move that sets up potentially two early-season reunions with Norwich City.

The 35-year-old, who was part of two Championship promotion-winning squads in a seven-year stint at Carrow Road, joined the Blues last week on a 12 month deal following his Wolves’ departure.

Ruddy played against his old club in a Molineux Premier League farewell at the end of last season, but the Blues’ League Cup trip could mark his first competitive return to Norfolk since 2017.

Birmingham head to Carrow Road on Tuesday, August 9 in the first round tie, with Dean Smith's squad making a Championship return to St Andrew's on August 30.

“I want to prove to people that I can still do a role. I am not getting any younger, none of us are, I am 35 now, but I still think that I have a lot to offer on and off the field,” said Ruddy. “That is my mantra going forward. Until my body tells me I can’t perform any more then I will keep trying.

“Hopefully I can help towards something successful here. The new head coach has come in, he is very forward-thinking, with fresh ideas and wants to galvanise what is already here and add to that. He wants to play a formation I am comfortable with and I like from my time at Wolves.

"So to be part of that and to, hopefully, be part of something successful coming up, that appeals to me.

“The game time is a massive thing. I spent four years as a number two at Wolves, and to get that opportunity to go out and prove I can still play and perform is something that was too good to turn down. That is why I am here.”

The ex-England international insists this season’s Championship is wide open, with the Canaries and the other relegated Premier League clubs in for a major scrap.

“You have some big, big teams at this level and teams also who sense an opportunity to do something,” he said, in his first Blues’ club interview. “I don’t think it is the case the teams dropping down from the Premier League are guaranteed to go straight back up.

"They know they have to work hard, and the same applies to teams coming up from League One with a positive mind set.

“This season will be tough. The intensity of it. Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. A lot of games in a short period of time. How you manage your recovery is key, how the squad helps each in terms of players fighting for positions is key.

"We have a good group, built on strong characters.

"They will drive each other forward and make sure the standards are set high. If you can create that environment in a changing room it goes a long way.”