Birmingham City’s new manager Wayne Rooney has revealed his grand plans for the club to make it to the Premier League after taking over from John Eustace.
The former Manchester United and England captain was unveiled as the Blues’ new boss at a press conference at St Andrew’s on Thursday and lost no time in outlining his bullish ambitions. Rooney has joined Blues – currently the Championship’s longest serving club – with the main plan of winning promotion to the Premier League.
“The goal for the club and myself is to get this club back to the Premier League,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of work to be done throughout the football club. I really enjoy developing players, senior players and young players.
“We’ve had two lads training with us today from the academy. I wanted them up with us straight away because I want to see where they are at.
“The Premier League is where we want to get to. It’s an ambition of mine and the club’s and we’re putting everything in place to make sure we do that in the near future.”
It had not all been smooth sailing for Rooney having worked under trying circumstances in his previous managerial jobs with Derby County and DC United. Derby were penalized with a 21-point deduction and were relegated from the Championship in 2022 although Rooney was credited for the way he handled a tough situation.
He also encounteed difficulties in his tenure at DC United although Rooney obviously had expectations to make the MLS play-offs. Hopefully the 37-year-old is now bacj in a job where the conditions are more suitable for him to succeed.
“There’s more pressure,” Rooney said. “I love the fact we are in a good position. I love the challenge and the pressure of it. That is something I have dealt with since I was a young kid coming through at 16.
“It’s nothing new to me, but it might be to some of the players. It’s my job to make sure I get them ready to be successful. We have tough games coming up which I can’t wait for.”