Ian Evatt features: 4 Tony Mowbray replacements Birmingham City must consider ASAP | OneFootball

The Blues released a statement on their official website on Tuesday morning, with the 60-year-old set to step down from his role.

Mowbray missed the end of the campaign, initially taking a temporary leave of absence due to illness in February.

However, it has been decided that he will continue his recovery away from the game by stepping down permanently from his role at Birmingham.

The Midlands outfit will now have to begin the search for a permanent replacement for Mowbray ahead of their upcoming campaign in League One.

Here are four managers Birmingham must consider as replacements to Mowbray this summer...

Gareth Ainsworth

Gareth Ainsworth is currently out of work following his departure from QPR near the start of the season.

The 51-year-old has a proven track record at League One level, having guided Wycombe Wanderers to promotion in 2020 for the first time in the club's history.

Ainsworth did very well to overachieve with limited resources, made the Chairboys competitive at least for one season in the second tier, and steadied the ship at QPR to prevent relegation to the third tier in 2023.

While his agricultural style of play may not be exactly what Birmingham are looking for right now, they would rather get promoted back to the Championship immediately than come mid-table playing nice football.

Given Ainsworth’s record at this level, it could be worth considering whether he could be a solid option to bring the club forward in the short-term.

Nigel Pearson

It remains to be seen whether Nigel Pearson would be willing to take the step down to League One, but it could be worth tempting him with an offer.

The ex-Bristol City manager is currently out of work after his departure from the Robins in October.

His time at Ashton Gate saw him maintain City’s Championship status quite comfortably, and he knows what it takes to elevate a team to a promotion push.

He would be a safe pair of hands that could guide the club back to the second tier at the first attempt, which Birmingham will be keen to achieve, although he has had recent health issues himself - ones that he has insisted won't hold him back from working however.

Ian Evatt

Ian Evatt suffered promotion disappointment with Bolton Wanderers this past week when losing at Wembley to Oxford United, which has raised some doubts over his future with the Trotters.

The 42-year-old has taken Wanderers from League Two to within one game of the Championship during his time in charge of the side since his move from Barrow.

However, after four years with Bolton, now may be a good time for him to move on and take on a project elsewhere.

Birmingham would be a very attractive proposition given their long-term ambition to fight for promotion to the Premier League.

Now could also be a good time for the Blues to appoint someone with a long-term view in mind, and Evatt could be an ideal candidate in that case.

Alex Neil

Alex Neil is another experienced Championship-level coach that knows what it takes to earn promotion to the second tier.

He previously guided Sunderland to promotion in 2022 after taking over midway through the campaign.

Neil is out of work at the moment, which will mean not having to negotiate terms on a compensation package.

The 42-year-old has taken Norwich City to the Premier League and came close to getting Preston North End into the Championship play-offs on more than one occasion - his time at Stoke between 2022 and 2023 did not go to plan, but he will be itching to prove any doubters wrong.