Birmingham City: Tom Wagner makes honest Wayne Rooney claim | OneFootball

Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner has admitted to making one key mistake during his time with the Blues.

While the US businessman failed to mention John Eustace by name, it has been reported by the Daily Mail that the Championship side now feels it was an error to let the former manager go so soon.

The 44-year-old was in charge of the team when the ownership changed hands last summer, but he was dismissed in October, despite making a positive start to the season.

He left the team sitting sixth in the table following an impressive 3-1 win over local rivals West Brom.

His replacement Wayne Rooney lasted just 83 days in charge, with the team plummeting down the table under his management.

Wagner makes Birmingham City admission

Wagner has admitted that he has made one major mistake during his time in charge of the Midlands outfit.

He believes that lessons have been learned, but expects more mistakes to come in the future as every decision can’t be the right one.

“We made one decision that if we were to go back in time we wouldn’t have made,” said Wagner, via the Daily Mail.

“I don’t think we can ever ensure every decision we make will be a perfect one.

“There were some good lessons learned with some of the decisions we’ve made this year and there have been substantial learnings about how we think about making important decisions on the sporting side.

“In the context of having made thousands of decisions for the club this season, we made one that wasn’t perfect.”

Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City record

Rooney oversaw just 15 games in charge of Birmingham before being replaced by Tony Mowbray.

The veteran coach has since taken a leave of absence due to illness, and is expected back for the start of next season.

Gary Rowett is now at the helm on a temporary basis until then.

Meanwhile, Eustace is back in management having replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson at Blackburn Rovers.

Both sides are aiming to avoid relegation from the Championship this season.

Eustace’s side currently sits 16th in the table, four points clear of Birmingham in 22nd.

With just five games to go, time is running out for the Blues to turn their campaign around and avoid relegation to League One.

Birmingham and Blackburn will both be in action on Wednesday evening with games against Cardiff City and Bristol City, respectively.

Eustace’s sacking could be what costs Birmingham a place in the Championship

The decision to sack Eustace was a controversial one at the time, and looks even worse now that we are months removed from the change in manager.

Rooney was a big name, but he was all flash and no substance, leading the team towards a relegation battle.

It is now a real possibility that the Midlands outfit suffers the drop to the third tier, which didn’t seem likely under Eustace, who is set to guide Blackburn away from the scrap at the bottom.

This could prove a very costly mistake to make, and one that Wagner must learn from if he is to bring success to Birmingham.