"Better candidates out there" - Birmingham City pursuit of Liam Rosenior leaves supporter torn | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City are keeping tabs on Liam Rosenior following his departure from Hull City earlier this month.

According to Football Insider, the 39-year-old is being monitored by the Blues as they wait on Tony Mowbray’s potential return to the club.

It remains uncertain whether the veteran coach will come back to St. Andrew’s after taking a leave of absence due to medical reasons midway through the Championship season.

In the event that Mowbray is unable to return, Birmingham have shortlisted Rosenior as a potential replacement.

Gary Rowett had been in charge on an interim basis, but has departed the Midlands outfit following the club’s relegation to League One.

Liam Rosenior verdict given amid Birmingham links

FLW’s Birmingham fan pundit Mike Gibbs is unsure if Rosenior is the man to bring the Blues forward in League One next year.

He believes that it might be a good time for the club to take a riskier approach to their next managerial appointment, if Mowbray does need to be permanently replaced.

“I think mixed emotions on the Liam Rosenior link,” Gibbs told Football League World.

“He’d obviously done a good job at Hull, I was very, very surprised to see them get rid of him given he obviously finished in seventh and prior to that they were languishing at times.

“His track record is very good.

“I think when we played them as well, I was impressed with how they moved the ball and how they attacked.

“I guess the negative side of it is, I’m just purely going on what I’ve read, I’m not necessarily sure his style is what the board is looking for.

“It’s certainly not all-out attack, free-flowing football at times.

“He sets them up pretty solidly as well.

“I’m a bit mixed.

“Would I be unhappy? Probably not, but there’s probably better candidates out there.

“I really feel like this is an opportunity as well in League One to properly rebuild and go back to scratch, so I’d rather risk going for someone who can potentially do what Kieran McKenna’s done at Ipswich and can really transform the playing style of the club, and progress.

“Yes it can go badly, badly wrong, but it can go really, really well as well.

“I definitely prefer him to Steve Bruce, 100 percent.

“I just don’t like that Steve Bruce line, I think that’s utter rubbish.

“If you look at what they’ve come out and said they want to do, I think Steve Bruce is the antithesis of that.”

Liam Rosenior's coaching record

Rosenior oversaw 15th and seventh place finishes during his time at Hull, with his other previous coaching experience coming as an assistant at Derby County.

He was an assistant to Wayne Rooney, who Birmingham fans will know well from his short stint in charge at St. Andrew’s this season.

Rooney played a role in the club’s relegation to League One, with the team ultimately finishing only one point from safety.

The Blues finished 22nd in the Championship table, with a final day 1-0 win over Norwich City not enough to overcome their rivals.

Rosenior can guide Birmingham to promotion

If Birmingham want a manager that can guide them to promotion next season, then Rosenior has the potential to achieve that.

He is a Championship calibre coach, so it would be questionable whether he can even be convinced to join Birmingham at this stage.

But it could be worth taking the step down to the third tier for the 39-year-old, if it’s to build a long-term project at St. Andrew’s, as that could be appealing.

However, the issue of playing style might be something that proves a major stumbling block to his ability to succeed long-term with Birmingham.