Birmingham City have had a disastrous spell under new head coach Wayne Rooney so far and CEO Garry Cook’s recent comments ahead of the January transfer window certainly won’t be music to supporters’ ears.
The former Derby County boss was handed the job in controversial circumstances as the Blues were sitting in sixth place when ex-manager John Eustace was relieved of his duties, having beaten West Bromwich Albion 3-1 in the West Midlands Derby his final match in charge.
Rooney was announced as the new manager in the St. Andrew’s hot seat after a rather underwhelming stint with DC United in the MLS, having won merely 14 of his 53 games in charge of the American outfit which is a 26.4% win percentage.
Having taken over in such a tricky situation under pressure from supporters, Rooney’s time with the Midlands club could not have gone any worse than it has. Birmingham City have won just one game in his first nine matches in the dugout, which came against bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday.
Furthermore, having been sitting inside the playoff places when Eustace departed at the beginning of October, the Blues are now merely four points above the relegation zone, with Queens Park Rangers and Wednesday picking up points in recent weeks.
Birmingham have two extremely difficult matches on the horizon against both Cardiff City on Wednesday and Leicester City next Monday. The team could potentially be in the bottom three if results elsewhere go against them.
Supporters will be crying out for new signings to be made in January. However, CEO Garry Cook has hinted that not a lot of movement will be made by Birmingham City [quotes via Birmingham Live]:
“The numbers are staggering to identify the ones that will actually be able to come. January is a very difficult window. It’s not one that is easy to work in.
“At the same time, we’ve got great players. I always worry when everyone starts to look forward to the window. We’ve got some great players and they will get better. That’s the commitment that the coaching staff are making, and the commitment that support staff are making. Let’s make everybody better before we worry about how to replace everybody.”
Writer’s View
Birmingham Live released a report early on Monday morning, revealing that Birmingham City potentially had eight players absent through injury ahead of the side’s trip to Wales in midweek.
It’s certainly worrying for fans to hear that the club may not be very active in January when it’s clear that the squad needs to be strengthened.
