Wayne Rooney has revealed he knew Birmingham fans would not accept him from the moment he arrived at St Andrew’s and insisted the Blues were ‘in a false position’ when he joined.

The Manchester United great replaced John Eustace in October but was sacked last month, after winning just two of his 15 games in charge and losing nine.

Birmingham were sixth in the Championship when Rooney was appointed, but by the time he was sacked they were only six points above the relegation zone. 

The former England striker, however, insisted the Blues had overachieved under Eustace prior to his arrival. 

‘I think they [Birmingham City] were in a false position [when I arrived], but you back yourself,’ Rooney said on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast with Sky Bet. 

Wayne Rooney believes he was never given the chance to succeed at Birmingham

Wayne Rooney believes he was never given the chance to succeed at Birmingham 

Rooney was sacked in January after just three months in charge at St Andrew's

Rooney was sacked in January after just three months in charge at St Andrew’s

‘I’m someone who has always done that, I’ve always been a confident person. 

‘To be fair, the first five games we had were probably the toughest five games of the season, so that didn’t help with what happened in the end. 

‘I backed myself – it didn’t pay off – so I’ll move on.’ 

Birmingham have won three of their six league games since Rooney was replaced by Tony Mowbray,  who has since stepped away to deal with a serious illness, but remain just six points clear of the relegation zone.

Rooney’s position was almost immediately under scrutiny since he replaced Eustace and he felt he’d never win the fans over. 

‘Birmingham City fans didn’t accept me from day one,’ he said. 

‘John Eustace had done a good job, to be fair to him, but they made the change and asked me to go in.

‘I went in, but I knew straight away that I wasn’t accepted by the fans.

‘I think it was more because John Eustace had done well. They were in sixth place when he got sacked. 

‘If you’re a Birmingham fan, the last ten years they’ve had, and they are touching the play-offs – I know it was early in the season – and then the manager gets sacked.

Rooney said he felt he was never accepted by Birmingham fans in his three months in charge

Rooney said he felt he was never accepted by Birmingham fans in his three months in charge

‘They had the situation with [Gianfranco] Zola a couple of years ago, and that comes back into the minds as well.’

Rooney’s appointment a major gamble by American consortium Knighthead, which include NFL great Tom Brady and took over the club last summer.

The experiment backfired spectacularly, but the former Everton and United star felt it was never given the chance to succeed.

‘You’re always looking for momentum, and that first win is important – in our first five games we didn’t get that. Then there was the international break,’ he said.

‘Before I went in, I spoke to the owners about how they wanted the team to play, how I wanted to play, we were all aligned in what we wanted. 

‘The one thing we all knew is that we needed players in January. That was really my only disappointment, that we got to January, and they didn’t give me the opportunity to get players in – that was a part of the discussions, and we knew that we needed them.

The Blues won just twice in Rooney's 15 games in charge before he was sacked in January

The Blues won just twice in Rooney’s 15 games in charge before he was sacked in January

‘If you look at all the messaging from myself and the [Birmingham City] owners, it was about a long-term plan. Of course, in the short-term, we weren’t getting the results we wanted. 

‘I understand that owners have to make decisions, but to not let me get the players in January, that was disappointing. It was a bit of a shock when it happened.’

Wayne Rooney was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet

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Post source: Daily mail

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