Manchester United favorite Wayne Rooney is winless in his first five games as Birmingham City boss but NFL great Tom Brady was delighted as Blues secured a crucial win
Birmingham City co-boss Tom Brady led the praise as he praised his players for delivering Wayne Rooney his first win since taking over as manager.
The former England captain failed to register a win in his first five games as Blues boss after being appointed as John Eustace’s replacement. His struggles in his new role have brought him some harsh criticism, especially after his popular predecessor got the campaign off to a strong start.
Now, however, the Old Trafford hero has recorded his first win since taking charge, leading his side to a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. The Midlands side looked set to finish fifth in six games under Rooney after the visitors took the lead before half-time.
Birmingham were quick to recover, though, and Juninho Bacuna canceled out Wednesday’s advantage just three minutes later in stoppage time before the break. The Curaçao international’s goal was a collector’s item, with a gorgeous volley from outside the penalty area as he cleared the ball.
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The former Rangers man’s sensational goal earned praise from Brady, the chairman of Broome’s advisory committee, who expressed his delight on social media. The NFL superstar quoted a post on Birmingham City’s official Twitter/X page announcing Bacuna’s goal, whispering: “It’s all about the Blues today. Fantastic.”
After that, the Blues did not take the lead for the first time in the game until the 81st minute, when Jordan James made a timely supplementary shot to rewrite the score to 2-1. Jay Stansfield’s hard work up front paid off as he provided James with a heavy cross.
The youngster missed his first shot but converted the rebound, relieving the pressure on Rooney and putting his side on the path to their first win since early October. His manager was emotionless on the touchline at St Andrews but the goal would prove to be the most important of his tenure at Birmingham so far.
The goal also delighted former New England Patriots legend Brady, who once again posted on Twitter/X: “Come in!” as he struggled to contain his joy. Rooney’s side took all three points with the rest of the game and sit 14th in the Championship table after 17 games.
Ahead of his first win in charge at St Andrews, the former Everton wizard insists he is at peace with his poor start to the club. He said: “I’m not worried. We know we need to get points but I think we have a lot of games now where we can really push forward.
“We’re trying how to play – it’s a different approach, a different style, a different physicality to what the players are used to and it takes time. It’s always a game when you play against people at the bottom of the table Difficult game because mistakes can always happen and happen often in tournaments.
“We have to be extremely focused to make sure we win games and what I see on the training ground is improving every week.”