Gary Rowett has already made one excellent decision since his Birmingham City return

Gary Rowett’s decision to bring back former player and coach Paul Robinson to Birmingham City is one that could work out.

Gary Rowett has returned to Birmingham City for his second time in command, and he is tasked with keeping the club in the Championship.

Birmingham City’s relegation battle.

The former player inherits a Blues team that has been slipping down the ladder at an alarming rate since John Eustace was fired and replaced by Wayne Rooney in October.

Tony Mowbray was called in to follow the Manchester United veteran, but his illness caused another drop in performance under assistant Mark Venus.

So it’s now up to Rowett to save the Blues, who are now outside the bottom three on goal difference.

Paul Robinson joined Gary Rowett’s coaching staff.

And he has wasted no time in reestablishing himself at the club, since it was disclosed earlier this week that he had taken two staff members with him – Dave Carolan and Paul Robinson.

The choice to bring Robinson in will particularly thrill Blues fans, since the 45-year-old has a genuine passion for the club.

The former left-back retired from St. Andrew’s after 175 appearances in royal blue, many of which he captained. He hung up his boots and joined the backstage team.

Robinson went through a lot at Blues during that time, including several relegation battles, and his mentality was critical to ensuring that the club did not slide to League One on multiple times.

Of course, he can’t influence the game on the field anymore, but Robinson is exactly the type of character you’d want as you strive to stay alive.

He has many attributes as a coach that he possessed as a player. He will set high standards for everyone around him, ensuring that the players play for the badge and are fully committed to achieving success.

With only eight Championship games remaining, Blues’ focus is only on winning.

Nobody will care how the team plays as long as they score points and avoid falling into the bottom three by May.

Millwall’s development under Neil Harris exemplifies what’s required at this time of the season. They don’t play pretty football, but he has galvanized the team, and ten points in his first five games gives them some much-needed breathing room at the bottom.

The task for people at St. Andrews is to reproduce that, and they will approach it similarly.

In some situations, awarding a short-term contract to a management team is problematic. Do they truly care when they may go in the summer?

Rowett’s history with the club means he’ll be keen to keep them up, and his decision to bring Robinson on board means another member of staff who cares about the Blues.

That might give Birmingham precisely the edge they need to beat their rivals in the Championship’s extraordinarily close bottom third.