Birmingham City managerial latest: Who are the candidates to try and steer Blues back into the Championship at the first attempt?

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A look at Birmingham City’s managerial situation as the club announced Tony Mowbray will be stepping away from the role for next season, giving a new boss time to get in and get their ideas across as they hope for promotion in the upcoming campaign.

Transcript

00:00Tony Mowbray's departure from the club is something he won't look fondly back on, something

00:12that Blues will see as a real missed opportunity. What's the latest you can tell us in terms

00:18of this summer because it's going to be a real time to clear out and rebuild for Blues

00:23and ensure that they return to the Championship at the back end of next season?

00:30Personally, the best wishes to Tony Mowbray. I think he would be the first person to say

00:34he wants to be in the dugout. He wants to help Birmingham. He's a proper footballing

00:37man and a real gent as well. Such a lovely bloke the few times I did speak to him. You'll

00:42be gutted that he can't continue. But at the end of the day, his health has to come first.

00:46He's had major surgery. We're not exactly sure what that is, but that doesn't matter.

00:51He's still recovering from that. It was a few months ago and he's still having to build

00:54his health back at home. So I think it's the right decision at the end of the day. It's

00:58also been very selfless to tell Birmingham so quickly by the end of the season, before

01:03the summer transfer window has begun. So the new manager can come in, he can begin to clear

01:07out of who he wants. There's a few candidates so far, but it's not going to be a very quick

01:12decision I don't think for Blues. Maybe take a week or two to get their man in. I could

01:16be proven wrong. Alex Neil, the old Stoke City boss, Sunderland as well, Norwich City

01:22he's managed before. He's had three promotions in his career, so he's got a good track record.

01:27I don't think Blues fans are too keen on him though, because of some comments he's

01:30made about the club in the past and how he's been in opposition press conferences. He's

01:34not quite been that man that Blues fans are going to warn to straight away. Paul Heckingbottom

01:39is another name who's been mentioned. Of course, got promoted for Sheffield United to the Premier

01:43League a couple of years ago. I think Blues fans have been a bit more welcoming to his

01:48name on the books. And then Liam Rosinia was the big standout candidate when the Mowbray

01:52news broke. But he's not going to want to drop down to League One, unfortunately for

01:56Blues fans.

01:57Yeah, I mean, looking over social media, it seems like Blues fans are sort of resetting

02:03their minds. You know, the Championship's gone. It seems like the turnaround of being

02:06annoyed at the clubs is sort of gone. It shows that there is ambition there and they can

02:11really get behind the new owners. As you say, they are very ambitious, despite a relegation,

02:17which is something that is absolutely terrible for the club. It doesn't seem to be hitting

02:22the same as, you know, if another club got relegated. So that does show some positive

02:26signs for this ownership under, you know, Birmingham City.

02:31Absolutely. I think they'd be on thin ice had they not showed so much ambition and the

02:36new stadium plans as well. And obviously, Tom Brady coming in has helped. The promise

02:40of spending a lot of money, not just on the facilities, but on other players as well in

02:43the future. If it wasn't for that, I think Blues fans would have turned on them and rightly

02:48so. But they are showing that ambition. It is their fault, I suppose, that they have

02:52got relegated. So much uncertainty last year, so many different managers, but they're trying

02:56to make amends for that and they've got a second chance now to prove their worth.

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