21 October 2023 , 21:27
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Wayne Rooney's appointment as Birmingham City head coach was met with scepticism - and naysayers will have felt vindicated after his team fell to defeat in his first game as boss.
The Blues' owners decided to end John Eustace's time at the club, despite him guiding the team to sixth place in the Championship in the early weeks of the season. Turning to former England captain Rooney as his successor, the decision has proven controversial.
With the 37-year-old's coaching career a mixed bag so far, there is no doubting that he will have wanted to hit the ground running in his new post. However, the ex-Manchester United hero could not inspire his team to victory against old teammate Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough in his first game back in English football.
Instead, Rooney's team's struggled to gain a foothold in the match, with their opponents eventually breaking the deadlock in the 89th minute. In truth, Rooney's stars failed to bring the game to Boro, with their promotion rivals having largely deserved their 1-0 victory.
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Of course, a feeble performance and an opening defeat will not inspire critics to change their stance on Rooney's appointment at the Second City outfit. Undoubtedly, the Old Trafford icon will be all too aware that the club's owners have taken a risk by parting company with his predecessor.
Birmingham's ownership group Knighthead have made no secret of their ambitions for the club moving forward. With the likes of NFL legend Tom Brady on board as a minority stakeholder and the Chairman of their Advisory Board, it is clear that their vision for Brum is ambitious.
Still, any feel-good factor that may have accompanied the installation of Rooney as head coach will quickly evaporate if he cannot carry on Eustace's progress. Undoubtedly, after falling to a last-minute defeat courtesy of a strike from substitute Morgan Rogers, the loss represents a sobering result for the upwardly-mobile club.
NFL legend Tom Brady is among the investors at Birmingham City (Gustavo Pantano/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Rooney acknowledged that improvements would be needed from his Birmingham players in the coming months following their defeat at the Riverside. He explained: "We need to be better. We need to improve and be better with the ball.
"Defensively we did OK, Middlesbrough cause you problems, we know that, they are a good team. With the ball, in possession, we need to be better. We need to be more comfortable taking the ball while marked and being more creative by doing that.
He added: "There was a lack of care and concentration in the final third. It’s going to take a bit of time. We know that. We are trying to get players into really good positions, but the main thing for us is being more comfortable in taking the ball.
"The goal we conceded, we were in Middlesbrough’s final third and a long clearance [...] it was a really sloppy goal from our point of view. It’s always hard to take when you concede late."