•Wayne Rooney
Birmingham City Football Club has announced the termination of Wayne Rooney’s managerial contract after two months in the saddle.
The club disclosed this in a statement today posted on its official website.
Rooney, who joined the club in October, had agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract to replace John Eustace at St Andrew’s after leaving Major League Soccer side DC United.
The club said Rooney was sacked following his failure to meet expectations.
The statement reads, “Birmingham City has today parted company with Manager, Wayne Rooney, and First Team Coach, Carl Robinson.
“Despite their best efforts, results have not met the expectations that were made clear at the outset. Therefore, the Board feels that a change in management is in the best interests of the Football Club.
“The Club’s Board and management are fully aligned and will continue to drive transformation and take bold steps to rebuild Birmingham City into the organisation its fans and community deserve.
“The Board would like to place on record their sincere thanks to Wayne and Carl for all of their efforts.”
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Garry Cook, said, “We are committed to doing what is necessary to bring success to St. Andrew’s.
“Unfortunately, Wayne’s time with us did not go as planned and we have decided to move in a different direction.
“The search for a successor begins with immediate effect and we will update supporters when we have further news.”
The cloud, however, disclosed that the Professional Development Coach, Steve Spooner, “will assume responsibility for Men’s First Team matters on an interim basis. The remaining coaching staff will be required to continue with their duties to assist Spooner.”
Rooney won just two of his 15 Championship matches at the helm, with the club slipping from sixth to 20th in the table.
Rooney, 38, was appointed when Birmingham were in a promotion play-off spot, having collected 18 points from their opening 11 Championship matches.
Pressure had been building on Rooney with Leeds supporters singing ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ during the 3-0 defeat at Elland Road on Sunday.
Now the Manchester United and England legend has been dismissed, with official confirmation expected later today.
