Exclusive: Emile Heskey urges Birmingham City to give Wayne Rooney time | OneFootball

Highlights

Birmingham City should give Wayne Rooney "all the time he needs" because "he can be a success" at St Andrew's, former England teammate Emile Heskey has told Football League World exclusively.

Rooney arrived at the Championship club under controversial circumstances - replacing well-respected boss John Eustace, who had the Blues sixth in the Championship - and has endured a difficult start to life in the West Midlands.

Birmingham City in 2023/24

Birmingham are yet to win a game under the former England captain - having lost four of his five games at the helm to slip down the table into 18th.

There have been some positives, including the form of Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield, but the jury is certainly still out on Rooney and pressure is building - with supporters frustrated already.

The club's American owners promised "no fear" football when the plug was pulled on Eustace to install the 38-year-old but we've not quite seen that in action yet - Blues have offered some threat= going forward, scoring four goals in five games, but have conceded 11 times.

Heskey, who played alongside Rooney for England and has stepped into coaching himself in the Leicester women's set up, believes that the former Derby County and DC United boss will come good at St Andrew's if he's given time.

"Wayne's a leader," he told FLW exclusively. "Wayne was a fantastic player and he led by example.

"In management, you need to be a leader and then you need to build your team of coaches and different personalities so that's what he's doing.

"He will strive to be the best he possibly can at Birmingham City, that's what he's trying to do.

"I watched the Southampton game and you can see what they're trying to achieve but it's going to take a little bit of time.

"But in football, do you have time? I think he should get all the time he needs because I do think he can be a success."

Birmingham face relegation favourites Sheffield Wednesday in their first game after the November international break.

The Building Foundations Fund

Heskey spoke to FLW at the launch of The Building Foundations Fund.

The new multi-year sponsor-backed fund will see Sky Bet provide £6 million for community causes at EFL clubs over a six-year period.

This season, an initial £10,000 has been made available for all 72 clubs, while across the next five years, grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 will be available to help teams to boost their current community programmes or launch new initiatives.