Former Birmingham City boss expresses Wayne Rooney disappointment | OneFootball

footballleagueworld video of the day

Former Birmingham City boss Lee Clark has expressed disappointment in current Blues boss Wayne Rooney regarding comments he made when he took over at St Andrews.

Rooney replaced John Eustace as manager at the club in October, but criticised the fitness of the squad and their ability to play how he wanted to play after taking charge of a couple of matches.

Recently, Rooney moved to clarify these comments, explaining that they were not a dig at the club's former boss John Eustace or his staff.

"This is nothing to do with the former manager and nothing to do with the fitness coaches," Rooney recently told BirminghamLive.

"What I’m asking the players to do now is be front-footed and press high, it’s really intense and hard work, so it’s a different fitness level.”

Despite the above, Lee Clark has expressed his disappointment in Rooney's original fitness comments, believing they were a bit of a cheap shot at Eustace.

Clark recently told The Toon Radio via Birmingham World: "They got rid of a manager who had the team in a better position that they should have been in terms of the finances, the situation. I know this new ownership had come into Birmingham but they hadn’t invested a lot in the group because they’d missed the transfer window."

“John Eustace hadn’t had huge backing in terms of the Championship and he got the team playing in a specific way. Sometimes it’s alright saying you want your team to play in a certain way but if the players and the group of players can’t do that, you have to do something different in the short-term to get results to through to the next transfer window to let you get players you believe can take on your system and play the way you want to play.

“It’s not as simple as I’ve got this philosophy, I’ll go into club X,Y or Z and I’m going to make them play this way. If the players can’t perform that way, it is difficult.

"I’ve always been a big believer in if you go into a club and you think the fitness levels aren’t where they should be, keep that to yourself and get the team fit.

“I was a bit disappointed with Rooney’s quotes saying the players weren’t as fit as he wanted them to go on and do what he wanted.It sounds to me as if he’s trying to play a high-pressing game, win the ball high up the pitch and play quick football through the thirds.

"It’s a little bit of a cheap shot on the previous coach, especially a coach that had them in the top six, batting above where they probably should have been.”

Were Wayne Rooney's comments a cheap shot at John Eustace?

Whilst they initially did appear to be a bit of a cheap shot and criticism of the club's former boss, I do not think that they should be taken as so now.

Rooney took time to clarify recently that he was not criticising the club's former staff when making his previous comments, and that he was simply demanding more from the players.

As such, there appears no reason to make a big drama out of things.

Clarke clearly keeps a close eye on goings on at his former club, but on this occasion, I'm not sure that his disappointment in Rooney is necessarily justified.