Blackburn Rovers: Birmingham City have received double boost amid John Eustace exploits - View | OneFootball

Eustace is doing well at Ewood Park at this stage- and Birmingham are thriving as well.

Birmingham City's decision to sack John Eustace in October last year came as a major surprise.

Blues were in the promotion mix at that point, and although it was unclear whether they were going to be able to retain their place there, their start under Eustace had laid a foundation for them to build on.

Unfortunately for the Midlands club, their decision to replace Eustace with Wayne Rooney marked a turning point in the season, and not a good one.

Rooney struggled massively at St Andrew's and left the club in relegation danger when he left during the early stages of January this year.

The intention to change the style of play was half-understandable, considering new owners often want to put their own stamp on clubs, but Eustace's successor failed very badly.

After his dismissal, Birmingham had a bit of bad luck, because Tony Mowbray looked to be an excellent replacement for Rooney.

Unfortunately, health issues meant he had to stand down not long after taking the top job at St Andrew's and his assistant Mark Venus temporarily took charge.

Venus, like Rooney, struggled during his time as manager and Blues rolled the dice once last time, appointing Gary Rowett in March to take charge until the end of the season.

Despite a 2-1 win against Norwich City on the final day of the season, the Midlands side were relegated to League One, leaving the club ruing their decision to sack Eustace.

However, things have got better at St Andrew's recently, and Eustace's achievements at Blackburn Rovers have provided them with a double boost.

Birmingham City supporters will be delighted to see John Eustace thriving at Blackburn Rovers

Birmingham and Blackburn don't really have a rivalry - and Blues fans still adore Eustace for both keeping them in the Championship at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and guiding them to a good start last season.

With this in mind, they will be delighted about how well their former manager is getting on at Ewood Park right now.

Coming into the season, some people would have tipped Rovers for relegation, especially with Sammie Szmodics being heavily linked with an exit before he finally made a move away from Ewood Park.

But they made a statement on the opening night of the season with their 4-2 win against Derby County - and they have been able to build on that since then.

Blackburn have gone unbeaten in their opening seven league games, winning four and drawing three, allowing them to climb into the play-offs.

Yesterday's 2-0 win against Queens Park Rangers took them level on points with Sunderland, who are currently seventh, and Birmingham fans will be keen to see Eustace enjoy more success with his team in the coming months.

Birmingham City are enjoying success of their own under Chris Davies

If Birmingham weren't doing well during the early stages of this season, a lot of Blues fans would have been extremely envious of Blackburn, considering the Midlands side probably shouldn't have dismissed Eustace in the first place.

But Blues' strong start to the campaign has allowed them to put the Eustace saga behind them for now, with current boss Chris Davies winning all but one of his league games in charge.

Not only has the club's recruitment impressed many people, but the third-tier side have also produced results on the pitch and there's a feel-good factor at St Andrew's right now.

They are already starting to build a gap between themselves and third place - and if they can continue to put points on the board regularly, they should have no problems in their quest to return to the second tier at the first time of asking.