Wednesday 29 October 2014 08:39, UK
New Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett says he is thrilled to be back at St Andrews even though he has returned to a struggling club.
City are second bottom in the Championship and sacked Rowett’s predecessor Lee Clark following an 8-0 reverse to Bournemouth at the weekend.
Rowett met the Birmingham squad for the first time this morning and along with his backroom staff of Kevin Summerfield, Mark Sale and Kevin Poole, set about lifting spirits ahead of Saturday’s Sky Live encounter against Wolves at Molineux.
“It’s a wonderful football club that obviously I’ve been part of previously as a player, which was part of the challenge for me and part of the excitement, so my initial thoughts are one of real excitement and determination to see if we can make very, very quick improvements,” Rowett said.
“I’ve gone in this morning, it was initially important that all the training ground staff and all the players, you know it’s my job to try and give them a lift and try and lift the mood. I think the fact that it’s someone new going in with a different voice and a different message and a different philosophy helps to facilitate that change.
“And I think that was important this morning. It was a new start for everybody. You can look at the result on Saturday, but you can also see it as a positive one in as much as the only way is up and the only way is forward for everybody.
“That is the message I’ve tried to get across. The players have worked very hard this morning and been receptive to our ideas, myself and my backroom staff, and I’ve been really pleased with the first day.”
Rowett concedes the decision to leave Burton Albion was tough, particularly with the team sitting third in the League Two table.
But he believes he made the right choice following a discussion with Albion chairman Ben Robinson.
Rowett said: “It was a hugely difficult decision for me because they gave me my firstly opportunity in management. I’ve been at the club for a long time, now I think this was my sixth season as assistant manager or manager, and I really appreciate the opportunity they gave me.
“The chairman Ben Robinson’s been fantastic, and it was a difficult decision. We’re in the midst of a promotion campaign hopefully this season, the first season to try and get it right, but I’ve always had an eye on where’s the next step, where’s my next challenge. And it always felt as though if a club like Birmingham became available then I would jump at the opportunity.
“And again it’s an opportunity that I absolutely relish. It was a difficult decision for me, but it was time to try something new. I think Birmingham City will give me the opportunity to do that.”
Rowett was also approached to take the Blackpool job recently, which may now go to Clark, but he did not feel suited to the position.
Although there has been big changes at Birmingham since Rowett left as a player as the start of the Millennium, he reckons the fervour among Blues fans remains the same.
“I think it was made quite public that I turned that opportunity down. Part of the reasoning really was I just felt as though everything needed to be right and everything needed to be in place for me to be able to do what I want to do with the team, and for the staff to be able to do what we want as well. I just felt this opportunity was the best one for me at the moment.
“My focus is on what we can achieve and what I feel we can achieve and what is achievable. The important thing for me really is to look forward and look at what might happen, not be fearful of what might happen.
“We’re second bottom in the table. The way I see it is we need to look ahead of us and look up and see if we can start to climb that table very quickly. It is a very different club. I appreciate that from the one that I left as a player, but it has the same ethos, and it has the same fans and it has the same passion.”
