Wayne Rooney has been backed to “get it right in the end” at Birmingham, but Tom Brady and Co have been told “expectation is too high” at present.
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Blues struggling for resultsHave dropped down the tableCoach backed to deliverWHAT HAPPENED?
The Manchester United and England legend took the reins at St Andrew’s in October, with John Eustace relieved of his managerial duties despite the Blues occupying a play-off spot in the Championship. They have slipped down those standings under Rooney’s stewardship.
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Rooney has picked up just two wins from his 11 games at the helm, suffering seven defeats. Questions have been asked of whether he can deliver on expectations, with NFL icon Brady and his fellow investors making it clear that the club intend to push back towards the Premier League at some stage in the near future.
WHAT CLEVERLEY SAID ABOUT ROONEY
Tom Cleverley – Rooney’s former team-mate at Old Trafford – believes those targets will be hit if a passionate coach is given time in which to get things right. He has told : "Wazza is a football man. His experience as a player is second to none. He's not just been like a Giggsy, where Giggsy was unbelievably experienced, but all he knew was challenging for titles at Man United. Wazza went down to a struggling Everton team, he went abroad, he came back and played for Derby in the Championship… so he had a lot of different experiences as a player as well. He's a massively passionate football man, with a wealth of knowledge.
"I can't comment too much on how he is in a dressing room because I've never seen it, but he'll have the immediate respect of the players. What I will say is that it's never easy to go into a club which wasn't really failing, at the time. The bar had been set high by John Eustace, and it was a rare occasion whereby they were probably overachieving, actually, and then they changed managers. The expectation is probably a little too high on Birmingham and Wazza at the moment, but you've got to give him time to implement his own way of playing. I'm sure he'll get that time and he'll get it right in the end."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ROONEY & BIRMINGHAM?
Birmingham now sit 17th in the Championship table, six points above the relegation zone, and have three more fixtures to take in through to the end of the calendar year – against Plymouth, Stoke and Bristol City. Fail to pick up a few wins and Rooney will be under serious pressure heading into 2024.