Keith Fahey has spoken of his 'delight' at signing a pre-contract agreement with Birmingham City.  The former St Patrick's Athletic midfielder will begin a three-and-a-half year deal on January 2nd.

The 25-year-old signed for a fee of up to €700,000 and he is eager to prove himself to Alex McLeish and the Birmingham fans.

Speaking to the club's official website, bcfc.com, Fahey said: "I'm delighted to have signed for Birmingham City and am really looking forward to coming to the club.

"Over the course of the season that has just finished in Ireland I was hearing about interest from clubs but you just put it out of your mind unless you find out that it's serious interest.

"When it became apparent Birmingham were in for me I jumped at the chance to come and talk to the people here as it is a club that's really going places."

Birmingham are currently second in the Championship and Fahey is sure he can help with the push for a place in the Premier League.

"Birmingham are doing well in the Championship and have every chance of being in the Premier League next season so it's a great opportunity and challenge for me to keep working hard and improving as a player."

Fahey is already familiar with the City after a stint with Aston Villa earlier in his career, while he knows a couple of his team-mates already and insists he's ready to fight for his place in a talented team.

"It's good to have competition for places in a squad and that's definitely the case at Birmingham," added the Tallaght-man. "There are some excellent players, many of them internationals.

"I know Liam Ridgewell from my time at Villa and also Stephen Kelly from youth internationals when we were both much younger, so there are a couple of familiar faces.

"I'm going to have a short break because the Irish season has only just finished but I'm already looking forward to getting stuck in to training, getting to know everyone better and showing the Blues fans what I'm capable of."