When Gary Rowett arrived for his (second) first press conference at Birmingham City on Wednesday afternoon, he was not greeted with the same hoopla as his predecessors this season.
There was no dramatic introduction before a tracksuit-clad Rowett walked in at quarter past two to welcome perhaps ten journalists. Rowett was never going to be unveiled, and he shouldn’t have been, considering that his second spell in charge of the Blues is only supposed to last eight games.
His quiet arrival is a show of respect for Tony Mowbray, whose seat Rowett will keep warm till summer. It was only natural that Rowett began the news conference by disclosing specifics about his meetings with the man he is temporarily replacing.
“It was always in my mind that I wanted to have that conversation,” he told me. “I believe Tony was quite integral in that process in terms of suggesting I might be a good candidate for that role.”That, I believe, tells you all you need to know about Tony Mowbray, which is why he is such a popular figure and why everyone wants him to recover, get back on his feet, and return to the touchline. That is where everyone wants to see him.
“It was critical that I had the talk and ensured that he was a part of the process, regardless of what his ideas were. He told me his thoughts on the team, its players, and the situation.
“One really important part for me, sometimes when you’re in this situation and you want to try and be respectful and have half a mind on how Tony has tried to do things, when the conversation started, he said, ‘You have just got to do it how you see fit, do it as an eight-game block and however you want to do it.'” I had a good conversation with him, and we all wish him well and a speedy return to full health.
Rowett and Mowbray have mutual respect, but their football ideas have occasionally diverged. For the next eight games, Rowett will have complete control to ensuring Mowbray returns without having to rebuild the club from the bottom.
Rowett added: “I’m an experienced manager in my own right and I’ll stay in contact with Tony, but I don’t think it’s a case of Tony ringing me on a Friday and going through the team with me. It’s more a matter of doing what I see fit and making independent judgments with my staff and the people who are already here. My task is simple: make sure Tony Mowbray is a Championship manager when he returns.
Rowett, who is now 50 and has a decade of Championship managerial experience, has switched from punditry to pressure at the end of the season. Many people would not have bothered to take on a position that could lead to relegation, but Rowett’s affection for the Blues, a club he has previously played for, drew him back.
Birmingham City has taken another step towards Tom Wagner and Knighthead’s long-term goal for the club by purchasing the 48-acre former Wheels Park in Bordesley Green.
BirminghamLive knows that the club plans to build a multi-sports super stadium on the site. A deal has been reached as part of the ailing city council’s massive land sale to cover redundancies and equal pay demands. Council papers indicate that up to 3,000 jobs will be generated.
Blues have been associated to the piece of land, once known as Wheels Adventure Park, since the council purchased it back in 2019.
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“It’s good to be back with something for your weekend. I believe this is why most managers return to it. Why do I go from a comfortable Sky Sports studio or sitting at home watching the rain outside thinking about what I’m going to do with my day, to now sitting there possibly getting insulted by loads of fans, hopefully not Birmingham ones? It’ll be fantastic to get outside.
“But it’s not about me enjoying myself, it’s not about me walking out there and the crowd being behind me, it’s about what we can do to help the team win games of football, it’s as simple as that.”
Rowett knows a lot about this Blues group, and Paul Robinson, one of his two chosen coaches, has been a frequent visitor to St Andrew’s in recent months. However, he has previously worked with only two players, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Oliver Burke, neither of whom is currently available.
Jutkiewicz is out with a knee injury, while Burke, who was benched by Mowbray and Mark Venus, is unlikely to play much in the final stretch.
Speaking about the man he signed twice for Millwall, Rowett said: “Burkey is now injured, and I don’t anticipate him to play much of the season. When you go in, it’s nice to see familiar faces, but the guys who are available are the ones who will deliver us success.
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