Watford and Sunderland may have an eye on Birmingham City developments in the Championship: View | OneFootball

Watford made the perfect start under interim boss and former club captain Tom Cleverley in their Championship fixture against Birmingham City.

The 34-year-old was appointed at Vicarage Road until the end of the season after the Hornets confirmed they had sacked Valerian Ismael, following a run of one win from 10 league games which saw them lose pace in the race for the play-off places.

And the former Manchester United midfielder, who had previously been coaching Watford's U18 squad, earned an important three points against a struggling Blues side who sit just above the relegation zone going into the international break.

Sunderland are another side struggling for form in recent weeks and are without a win in seven league games. The Black Cats also sacked their manager, Michael Beale, but their fortunes have failed to turn around under interim boss, Mike Dodds, currently lying in 12th place and their chances of reaching the play-offs all-but gone.

But in an announcement from the club on Tuesday afternoon, Birmingham confirmed that manager, Tony Mowbray, would take a formal medical leave of absence until the start of the 2024/25 season, with former boss, Gary Rowett, placed in interim charge to steady the ship from now until the end of the season, an option both Sunderland and Watford may consider when looking ahead to next term.

Gary Rowett's Birmingham City tenure could be Watford and Sunderland audition

The former Millwall manager is back in the Championship dugout, having left the Lions five months ago by mutual consent, to help his former side remain in the division next season.

It brought to an end a four-year tenure at The Den in which the 50-year-old had certainly overachieved with the resources at his disposal, having just missed out on a place in the play-offs in three of his four seasons in charge.

With Blues precariously placed in the standings, it was no surprise to see a familiar face welcomed back to St. Andrew's with the club failing to win any of their six games under the guidance of Mowbray's assistant, Mark Venus, who took the reins from the 60-year-old last month with the club announcing he required medical treatment and would have to step away from first-team duties.

The hierarchy at the West Midlands club deemed it necessary to make a third managerial change this campaign by welcoming Rowett back to the club for the final eight games of the season, and given his record in the second division, it is clear to see why.

Stoke City was much shorter than the rest of his tenures in the Championship.

And with eight games to steer Blues to safety, the powers that be at Vicarage Road and the Stadium of Light may be watching on with interest and may potentially make a move for the 50-year-old in the summer in the hopes of returning to the Premier League.

But the opportunity of managing Watford does come with its setbacks. The managerial merry-go-round in WD18 is hardly an attractive proposition given the lack of job security, having seen 12 different managers come and go since the 2019/20 season.

Similar to on Wearside, they have gone through six managers in that same timeframe, with the margin for success so small, it only takes a run of poor results to see you walking out the door no sooner than you walked in.

Beale's stint in charge was the shortest for a permanent manager in Sunderland's history, one match fewer than Paolo di Canio's 13 in 2013.

However, Rowett has proven in recent years his capability of managing at this level and could be a good option for Watford to consider ahead of next season.

While being thrust into a managerial position at this stage of the season is far from ideal, it does give Cleverley the opportunity to showcase his potential as a manager and a potential option for the Hornets to consider in the summer.

During their encounter with Birmingham, Watford showed a clinical edge that had been lacking in recent weeks, taking advantage of a mistake by Emmanuel Aiwu as Emmanuel Dennis scored the only goal of the contest.

The display was far from comfortable, with Venus' side outscoring the visitors in almost every aspect of the encounter, but the one statistic that matters is the one on the scoreboard when the referee blows the final whistle.

These eight games will be good exposure for Cleverley in terms of dealing with a multitude of things when being a manager, and it could make or break him despite it being so early in his managerial career.

So often the Hornets have adopted the approach of appointing an experienced coach in recent years, with the likes of Chris Wilder, Slaven Bilic, Roy Hodgson and Claudio Ranieri taking the hot seat at Vicarage Road. But, if Cleverley impresses from now until the end of the season, the hierarchy could be forced to switch up their approach in a search for more consistent results and a rise back to the top flight.

Unfortunately for Dodds, things aren't going to plan for him this time around and Sunderland's poor form of late has surely ruled him out in their hunt for Beale's permanent replacement. Rowett, on the other hand, has a chance to force his name onto that list.