John Eustace gives his reasoning for joining Birmingham City | OneFootball

Since the end of the season, there has been a lot going on at Birmingham City with uncertainty over the future of the club both on and off the pitch with the possibility of a takeover hanging over the club.

Despite being kept initially, the Blues announced that Lee Bowyer had been relieved of his duties as manager whilst John Eustace was coming in as his replacement.

It’s the 42-year-old’s first stint as a manger in the league having worked as assistant manager at Queens Park Rangers since 2018 after leaving his role as manager at Kidderminster Harriers before then.

There is plenty of work for the new boss to do before the new season and there’s no doubt he has a job on his hands especially with uncertainty over the ownership of the club remaining.

However, speaking to BluesTV, Eustace revealed why he chose to join the Blues after turning down other offers as he said: “I’ve been offered two or three really good roles as Head Coach in the Championship over the last couple of seasons.

“I was enjoying my development at QPR, I was working for two fantastic managers.

“My time at QPR obviously eventually came to an end and this job came up and its a great fit for me.

“Working in Birmingham, I’m a Birmingham lad and I’m really proud and honoured to be head coach of the club.

“Everyone has got to be proud to play for Birmingham City. Everyone that works for the club has got to be proud to work for the club. I’m a Birmingham lad, I want this club to do well now.

“The fans, they deserve success. It’s a massive football club and we haven’t over the last few years performed as well as we should do for whatever reason.

“These fans deserve success. Short-term it’s going to be very tough but long-term that’s the plan.

“This short-term period now, it’s going to be tough times. We need the fans to get right behind the players who are going to be performing week in and week out for the club.”

Quiz: 20 statements about former Birmingham City players – Are they true or false?

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True or false: Stephen Carr ended his playing career with Birmingham!

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The Verdict:

No one is under any illusion about the job Eustace has got on his hands at Birmingham City ahead of next season but it seems as though the new boss was keen to join and this is about pride for both himself and the city.

Even though it may be hard to understand why he would take a tough job compared to a more straightforward one in the same league, you can see that he is keen to make a difference at the club which is serving as his motivation.

There seems to be the idea of a short-term and long-term plan here which providing they are put in to place properly, could help the Blues recover and push on a bit more next season.