Wayne Rooney has had a nightmare start to life in the Birmingham City dug-out, joining the club as manager controversially already angered Blues fans but the performances on the pitch since he arrived have only further added fuel to the fire as to why the St Andrew’s masses didn’t want this appointment to go through.
Rooney has picked up a dismal one win from his seven games in charge so far, that solitary victory coming against bottom-of-the-league Sheffield Wednesday as young Welsh midfielder Jordan James bailed the Blues out with a late strike to win 2-1.
Last time out however, Birmingham were back to their old tricks against Blackburn Rovers as Sammie Szmodics had a field day up against a hapless Blues defence to help his team to a 4-2 win.
The 38-year-old’s patience will be wearing thin already with his underperforming group of players, Rooney barely two months into his new post and feeling the heat.
Certain players within the set-up at St Andrew’s will be fighting it out for their futures over the next few matches in a bid to impress their under-fire manager, with the January transfer window now looming large if they don’t buck their ideas up.
Here are three players that could be having sleepless nights about their immediate Birmingham futures…
1
Scott Hogan
Into his fifth successive season now as a Birmingham player, Scott Hogan has failed to really get going this campaign for the Blues up top.
A constant first team presence under previous manager John Eustace towards the start of the season, Hogan’s minutes have been significantly cut in recent weeks and for good reason.
Scoring an impressive ten goals last season for the Blues in the second tier, Hogan only has two goals from 16 appearances in all competitions this time around.
The 31-year-old’s once concrete first-team spot has now been taken by Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield recently, the 21-year-old offering Rooney’s Blues a more mobile and prolific option in attack – Stansfield scoring five times this season in the league, whilst Hogan has to make do with his one paltry goal.
Hogan will keep battling it out to displace Stansfield – the ageing attacker did come off the bench against Blackburn to assist Siriki Dembele’s second of the game – but he could be facing a losing battle against a forward ten years younger than him.
2
Oliver Burke
On loan at St Andrew’s for the season from parent club Werder Bremen, there’ll be a temptation on Birmingham’s end to cut Oliver Burke’s deal short this January if he doesn’t step up to the mark soon.
Scoring four times and assisting a further three goals for Millwall last season in another short-term switch from Germany, Burke hasn’t been able to replicate this form when playing at the Den for his new side.
The Scotsman has been a passenger so far at St Andrew’s when on the pitch, anonymous going forward with zero goals or assists from 13 second-tier appearances.
The 26-year-old will need to show his manager that he’s worthy of first-team chances before the transfer window reopens, or he could be packing his bags back to Bremen early.
3
Gary Gardner
Much like Hogan, Gary Gardner has become a part of the St Andrew’s furniture with 174 appearances amassed for the Blues over the last six seasons.
But, it does feel as if the 31-year-old could be moved on from Birmingham in the not-so-distant future despite this long-standing connection after a forgettable season to date.
Only starting one game so far this season, as per Sofascore, Gardner’s spot in the first-team has now been filled by the likes of Jordan James and Krystian Bielik who offer more verve and determination than the Birmingham number 20 can muster up.
When he is introduced off the bench, the out-of-sorts midfielder barely makes a lasting impact. Substituted on versus Blackburn last time out, Gardner could only manage a dire two touches of the ball from a 13-minute spell on the pitch.
Gardner’s career is in danger of winding down with a whimper if he can’t show to Rooney why he’s deserving of first team opportunities in the weeks to come, needing to show some more fight and energy to break back into the starting eleven.
