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Birmingham City head coach Wayne Rooney reacted to fans chanting his name in Cardiff on Wednesday
Birmingham City head coach Wayne Rooney was “delighted” to feel a renewed confidence among Blues fans after seeing their side win away for the first time in almost four months.
“I’m just really happy for the players and the fans,” said Rooney.
“It's been a difficult few weeks. But the results needed to be improved.”
The 38-year-old former England captain added: “Birmingham had a decent start to the season, then there's a change of manager and I understand the fans' frustration.”
“Since we were on the run, it was not easy for them to see and believe that. But it’s great that they’re involved.”
“But we had to move the club forward. The results needed to be better and I’m delighted about that.”
Since the win at Ashton Gate, Birmingham had lost three times away from home at Watford, Preston and Norwich under Rooney's predecessor John Eustace.
When Rooney took over in October, the poor away form continued, with defeats at Middlesbrough, Southampton, Sunderland, Blackburn and Coventry.
But Blues fans have had their first glimpse of what their team could be capable of during that time – and had already given the manager the honor of calling his name ahead of Wednesday's win in South Wales, his first away win as Birmingham manager call.
“Birmingham City fans are a fantastic group who stand behind their team,” added Rooney.
“We will do everything we can to ensure we deliver the services and results that enable them to achieve this.”
“My team should play in such a way that they are difficult to beat, get the ball, be aggressive and have control of the game.”
“If we do the basics right and can’t get a simple five- or 10-yard pass, we’re in trouble.”
“If we do it right we look like a really good team.
“We handled Cardiff really well. In the second half it didn't look like we would concede a goal. Jordan James was excellent, especially his running game with the ball, and Ivan Sunjic coming back gave us a bit more stability in the middle of the pitch.” .
“A manager’s job is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the players and the more time I spend with them the better it gets.”
Rooney's biggest test yet comes at St Andrew's on Monday when Birmingham begin the week before Christmas with a home game against league leaders Leicester City.
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