Former Birmingham City boss Lee Clark believes Wayne Rooney aimed a cheap shot at previous coach John Eustace as he questioned his players' fitness.
Blues are yet to claim a win under Rooney since he took over last month. The side has just taken one point in Rooney's first five games in charge.
Eustace left Blues sitting just one point and one place outside of the Championship play-offs. But the four defeats and a draw later, has seen them drop to 18th.
That has caused Clark, who spent two years at St Andrew's between 2012 and 2014, to query the appointment, the attempt to change style and chide Rooney for his comments about players' fitness
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Clark told Toon Radio.: "They have taken one point from 18 [15], he seems to have a commodity that 99 per cent of managers haven't got, because there could be another 5-10 sackings if there was a manager or coach with that sort of record, one point from six [five] games, they could be gone.
"He has been brought in by a group of people who want the A list ex-player to become the top manager, they want all the bells and whistles that come with it, the new ownership there – and at this time it’s not working.
“They got rid of a manager who had the team in a better position that they should have been in terms of the finances, the situation. I know this new ownership had come into Birmingham but they hadn’t invested a lot in the group because they’d missed the transfer window.
“John Eustace hadn’t had huge backing in terms of the Championship and he got the team playing in a specific way. Sometimes it’s alright saying you want your team to play in a certain way but if the players and the group of players can’t do that, you have to do something different in the short-term to get results to through to the next transfer window to let you get players you believe can take on your system and play the way you want to play
“It’s not as simple as I’ve got this philosophy, I’ll go into club X,Y or Z and I’m going to make them play this way. If the players can’t perform that way, it is difficult. I’ve always been a big believer in if you go into a club and you think the fitness levels aren’t where they should be, keep that to yourself and get the team fit.
“I was a bit disappointed with Rooney’s quotes saying the players weren’t as fit as he wanted them to go on and do what he wanted. It sounds to me as if he’s trying to play a high-pressing game, win the ball high up the pitch and play quick football through the thirds. It’s a little bit of a cheap shot on the previous coach, especially a coach that had them in the top six, batting above where they probably should have been.”
