Former Birmingham City man Lee Carsley believes Wayne Rooney will succeed at St Andrew's but will be under immediate pressure to perform.
Former England skipper Rooney was announced as Blues’ new manager on a three-and-a-half year deal on Wednesday, replacing John Eustace at the helm. He will be joined by former Manchester United teammate John O'Shea and Ashley Cole, who is currently Carsley's assistant with the England Under-21 team.
Rooney managed a stricken Derby, who were docked 21 points and relegated under him, before going to the United States for a spell with DC United and takes over with the club sixth in the table. Carsley, who made 53 appearances for Birmingham between 2008 and 2010, said: “Wayne is in a position where he needs to do well. He’d done a good job at Derby under tough circumstances.
“John Eustace will have a high stock at the minute because of the position. Obviously there’s massive expectations at the club, the new owners are not only talking about a lot of things at the club but the city as well, which has lifted expectations. It’s great for the city.
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“Having O’Shea and Ashley, I’ll imagine he will succeed. You want young coaches to do well and hit the ground running. Birmingham have been at the wrong end of the table for too long now. It seems the clouds have been lifted.
“Ash has had a couple of full-time roles with Chelsea and Everton. It’s brilliant for him to be coaching every day. He’s so passionate about players and the system.”
Cole will remain with England and he will be on the sidelines with Carsley when the Young Lions host Serbia in their Euro 2025 qualifier at Nottingham Forest's City Ground on Thursday night.
