Birmingham City have just undergone a second managerial change in three months.
Birmingham City made the bold decision to sack John Eustace back in October, replacing him with Wayne Rooney.
The former Derby County and D.C. United boss, rather expectedly, failed to impress at St Andrew’s, succumbing to the sack last week.
Tony Mowbray is now the man in charge and he’s now tasked with galvanising a misfiring Birmingham City side who sit in 20th place of the Championship table.
Tony Mowbray has difficult coaching staff call to make
Mowbray’s first action was to bring in Mark Venus as his no.2; Venus has been Mowbray’s assistant for two decades and Birmingham Live say he’s a ‘direct replacement’ for Carl Robinson who was Rooney’s no.2 at St Andrew’s.
Rooney also added former teammates John O’Shea and Ashley Cole to his Birmingham City coaching staff and there’s uncertainty as to what’s happening to them.
Neither were sacked along with Rooney and the same report from Birmingham Live says that the pair ‘remain in situ’ at Birmingham City, with both, along with Pete Shuttleworth who was also brought to the club with Rooney, all reporting to training as normal.
Mowbray may opt to keep experienced duo
What impact O’Shea and Cole have had at Birmingham City since arriving remains to be seen.
The pair are certainly experienced former players and they seem to be keen on making their mark in the dugout, and Mowbray might feel that their experience could be useful going forward.
But at the same time, Mowbray might fancy a complete reshuffle following Rooney’s exit and so the pair, along with Shuttleworth, certainly seem to be facing an uncertain week or so ahead.
Right now, Mowbray’s focus will be on his first game in charge; a home game vs Swansea City this weekend.
It’s a tough opener but Blues fans will be out in full force to support their new boss and support the players in what’s become a fight for survival in the Championship.
A good run of wins will lift Birmingham City right back up the table but given recent form and Blues’ lengthy injury list, returning to winning ways will be easier said than done.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 3pm.