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 the wrong 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 just six points above the relegation zone.
However, the former England striker insisted the Blues had overachieved under Eustace before his arrival.
“I think they (Birmingham City) were in the wrong 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 in Birmingham
Rooney was sacked in January after just three months in charge at St Andrew’s
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‘I’m someone who has always done that, I’ve always been a confident person.
“To be honest, the first five games we played were probably the toughest five games of the season, so that didn’t help what happened in the end.
‘I backed myself – it didn’t pay off – so I’m moving on.’
Birmingham have won three of six league games since Rooney was replaced by Tony Mowbray, who has since resigned due to a serious illness, but remain just six points clear of the relegation zone.
Rooney’s position came under scrutiny almost immediately since he replaced Eustace and he thought he would never win over the fans.
“The Birmingham City fans didn’t accept me from day one,” he said.
“John Eustace had done well, to be honest, but they made the change and asked me to come 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 was fired.
“If you’re a Birmingham fan, for the last 10 years they’ve reached the play-offs – I know it was early in the season – and then the manager gets sacked.
“They had the situation with (Gianfranco) Zola a few years ago, and that comes back to mind.”
Rooney’s appointment was a big gamble by the American consortium Knighthead, which included NFL great Tom Brady, who took over the club last summer.
The experiment failed spectacularly, but the former Everton and United star felt it was never given a 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 breakthrough,” he said.
“Before I went in, I talked to the owners about how they wanted the team to play, how I wanted to play, we were all aligned on what we wanted.
Rooney said he felt he was never accepted by Birmingham fans during his three months in charge
The Blues won just twice in Rooney’s 15 games in charge before he was sacked in January
“The one thing we all knew is that we needed players in January. That was actually my only disappointment, that we got to January and they didn’t give me the opportunity to bring in players. That was part of the discussions and we knew we needed them.
“If you look at all the messages from me and the owners (Birmingham City), it was about a long-term plan. Of course, we didn’t get the results we wanted in the short term.
‘I understand that owners have to make decisions, but not letting me bring in the players in January was disappointing. It was a bit of a shock when it happened.”