Steve Bruce makes a ‘cocktail’ claim to address Birmingham City’s decision

Steve Bruce insists all the blame for Birmingham City’s relegation does not lie at Wayne Rooney’s door.

Former Blues boss Bruce – a two-time promotion winner at St Andrew’s – believes a series of decisions led to the club’s relegation to League One. He refused to lay the blame solely on the decision to sack John Eustace and appoint Rooney in October when the Blues were sixth in the Championship table.

Rooney lost nine of his 15 games in charge before owners Knighthead sacked him and brought in Tony Mowbray in January. The Blues improved before Mowbray was ruled out through illness and his assistant Mark Venus led a six-match winless run that included five defeats.

“Look, he didn’t have a great time,” Bruce said of Rooney’s unhappy spell with the Blues. “But didn’t Tony’s assistant lose six on rotation?”

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Speaking to Betway, Bruce added: “Unfortunately for me it was a cocktail of many different things. After such a promising start and then things went so badly for six months. You can’t squeeze Wayne. I think it’s a cumulative thing of the decisions they’ve made.”

The Blues hope Mowbray returns to lead their assault on League One. The 60-year-old won promotion from League One as manager of Blackburn Rovers in 2018. Rooney, meanwhile, has turned his hand to pundits in recent weeks as he awaits his next managerial job.

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