Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has defended Wayne Rooney and criticised the Birmingham City board for the timing of his appointment as manager.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Blues were flying high in sixth place when the new owners, which includes legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, took the decision to part ways with manager Jon Eustace and draft in England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney as boss.

The gamble could hardly have fared worse as Birmingham slumped alarmingly in the table, picking up a single win in Rooney’s seven games in charge. Even that arrived as a late win against bottom club Sheffield Wednesday.

Skys Sports’ Championship pundit Don Goodman has attempted to unpick events at St Andrews and has come to the conclusion that it’s been a question of extremely bad timing.

WHAT GOODMAN SAID

“The timing couldn’t have been worse,” Goodman told OLBG. “To bring in a new manager right before you play Middlesbrough away, Hull City at home, Southampton away, Ipswich at home, and Sunderland away leads me to wonder what they’re thinking. If those first couple of results happened to John Eustace, as they possibly could have due to the level of opposition, then they could have thanked John for his efforts before going in a different direction.

“Instead, they decided that Wayne is their man and they should get him in now. Birmingham were sixth when Wayne came in, and the pressure was on straight away. It was completely unnecessary. I feel for Wayne, as he’s come in in the middle of this run and the crowd is on his back. You need results when you come into a new club, and it didn’t happen. With that run of fixtures, it never was.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The move to remove Eustace and appoint Rooney, who arrived with former club and international team-mates John O’Shea and Ashley Cole as part of his coaching staff, earned headlines around the world but drew a great deal of sympathy for Eustace. Having taken over a club that had finished 20th in the Championship, Eustace had steadily improved the side to become play-off contenders.

The new management team’s stumbling start has not been met with patience by the St Andrew’s faithful, who have booed Rooney and heaped derision on any attempts by Brady to boost morale via social media.

WHAT NEXT FOR ROONEY AND BIRMINGHAM?

Rooney, Brady and the rest of the City top brass will be hoping for some respite when they take on strugglers Rotherham United at a chilly St Andrew’s on Saturday afternoon.