Birmingham City Eyeing Manager With 35% Win Rate In Last Job

Birmingham City made the bold and brave decision to sack head coach Wayne Rooney from his position on Tuesday morning, following a dismal run of results during the manager’s tenure.

The ex-Derby County boss took charge of the Blues at the beginning of October, replacing former coach John Eustace in controversial circumstances. Many supporters and pundits criticised the decision to remove Eustace from his post as Birmingham were sitting inside the top six and had just beaten West Bromwich Albion in the West Midlands Derby.

Nevertheless, the board believed this was the correct decision and pulled the plug on Eustace, irrespective of the side’s place in the table. Unfortunately, this decision backfired greatly and now Birmingham City are left with egg on their face.

Rooney took charge of 15 matches in the St. Andrew’s dugout and managed to win merely two, which came against Rotherham United and Cardiff City. Regardless, the victories were not enough to save his job as no team picked up fewer points in the league than the Midlands club after Rooney took the job.

The Blues dropped from sixth in the Championship to 20th and now sit merely six points above the relegation zone following Monday’s abhorrent 3-0 loss away at Leeds United, which was the final nail in Rooney’s coffin.

Now, the Birmingham hierarchy must make amends for their appalling lack of judgment and have eyeballed former Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl as a potential successor for the Manchester United legend, according to journalist Alex Crook.

The Austrian coach has been out of a job for over a year, having been sacked by the Saints in November 2022 after four years in charge of the club. During his time at the St. Mary’s Stadium, Hasenhuttl boasted a 35% win rate and now could be on his way to Birmingham City.

Writer’s View

This would be an incredibly surprising, yet impressive appointment by the club and one which could certainly raise a few eyebrows in the Championship given how long Hasenhuttl managed at the top level for in England and Germany.

However, appointing Hasenhuttl seems highly unlikely. While many will point to Southampton’s double 9-0 thrashings under his tutelage to tarnish his reputation, the 56-year-old still managed to keep the Saints in the top-flight for four seasons in a row and were relegated merely six months after he was dismissed. It’s hard to see the coach wanting to drop down a division and dive head-first into a relegation scrap.

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