Ireland assistant manager John Eustace becomes Birmingham City boss

BIRMINGHAM BOUND: Ireland assistant manager John Eustace. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Stephen Kenny could be on the lookout for yet another coach as assistant John Eustace has been confirmed as the new Birmingham City manager.

Eustace was only appointed in March following the departure of Anthony Barry to the Belgian national team.

It is the fourth coach Kenny has lost after both Damien Duff and Alan Kelly stepped down in the aftermath of the video controversy before the England game in November of 2020.

Eustace will take over from Lee Bowyer at Birmingham. Former Leeds and Newcastle star Bowyer was sacked on Saturday after 16 months in charge.

We are delighted to announce John Eustace as our new Head Coach.

Welcome to Blues, John! 🙌🔵

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) July 3, 2022

Eustace told the club’s official website: “I am very proud to be here. Obviously I am a Birmingham lad and I know the potential of the club and how important it is to the fans.

“We have under-achieved in the past few seasons and a club of this size, with the support that this club has, we need to be aiming higher.

“I can’t wait to get going, meet the staff and get my ideas across to the players out on the pitches as soon as we can.

“The big picture is to get us as competitive as we can, to build a team that the fans are proud of, to play exciting football and win as many games as we can.

“The first thing we have to do is get this squad competitive and ready for that first game of the season against Luton.”

Eustace’s arrival and Bowyer’s departure come amid uncertainty over a proposed takeover at St Andrew’s.