Championship: Birmingham City announce John Eustace as new Head Coach

Birmingham City have announced John Eustace as their new Head Coach on a three year deal.

Eustace replaces Lee Bowyer who was sacked over the weekend having led the club to a 20th place finish in the Championship last season.

With the club's current ownership Birmingham Sports Holdings looking to sell the club it was thought a change of manager was the best course for the club ahead of the new season.

Eustace joins having been assistant manager at Queens Park Rangers firstly under Steven Mclaren and latterly Mark Warburton.

His first taste of managerial life came at Kidderminster Harriers in 2016, a role he took on not long after retiring as a player.

Since March of this year, he has also fulfilled the role of Assistant Manager for the Republic of Ireland’s Men’s national team, working under Stephen Kenny.

Speaking of his appointment Eustace said, "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 underachieved 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.”