Wayne Rooney remains confident he can turn things around at Birmingham – but admits the forthcoming international break will be a crucial spell in his tenure at St Andrew’s.
Rooney’s return to English football has hardly gone to plan, with the Blues’ latest 3-1 defeat at Sunderland meaning he has picked up just one point from a possible 15 since taking charge of the club.
Birmingham’s form has nosedived since John Eustace was controversially moved aside last month, but Rooney can see light at the end of the tunnel despite his side’s struggles.
However, he concedes the next two weeks will be crucial as he attempts to improve his players’ fitness levels and get his views across to his squad.
Rooney said: “The opposition we’ve played have been very good teams. The first couple of games, I didn’t think we were good enough, but there was obviously a lot of information we were trying to get across to the players.
“It was a big change in what they’d been doing, and if you look at the last three games, then as a team, I thought there were positives from Southampton, a lot of positives from Ipswich and then certainly positives again here against Sunderland.
“I’ve seen improvements, but we obviously need to start improving the results, and I really believe we will. What I’m seeing in training, and what I’m seeing from the players in matches now, is really positive.
“I think this break will help, just in terms of getting the fitness work into them. That’s important in terms of how I want my team to play. We’re gradually seeing improvement in that, and it’s a good opportunity for us now to really spend some time with the players.”
Rooney was pleased with aspects of his side’s display on Wearside, with Koji Miyoshi’s first-half goal cancelling out an opener from Jobe Bellingham.
However, he was frustrated with the defensive lapses that led to a second-half own goal from Dion Sanderson and a late strike from Sunderland substitute Adil Aouchiche.
He said: “The defending has to be better. We conceded three goals from inside the six-yard box, and that’s a real disappointment.”
Sunderland’s pre-match preparations were disrupted when Dennis Cirkin suffered a hamstring injury during the warm-up, and having promoted Nectarios Traintis to the starting line-up, Tony Mowbray was delighted with the Australian youngster’s performance on his full Championship debut.
The Sunderland boss said: “It’s frustrating with Dennis, obviously, but it’s great for Nectar. I’m delighted that him coming in has worked out so well.
“Nectar’s an amazing young man. I don’t know whether he came over expecting to get straight into Sunderland’s team and play, but with Luke O’Nien and Dan Ballard doing so well, he’s had to sit on the sidelines.
“He’s playing with the Under-21s – we sent him to Southampton the other week and he spent seven hours on a bus travelling down there and then seven hours travelling back. Yet he does it all with a smile on his face.
“He knows he’s a young footballer who hopefully has a big future at this club, but he also knows where he is in the pecking order at the moment. For him to get chucked in two minutes before kick-off was amazing for him, and I’m so happy for him because he’s such a nice kid.”
Stones relishing 'special' England moment after being handed Three Lions armband
Lee Carsley revealed that John Stones will lead out England in their Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday, with Harry Kane set to start the encounter on the bench.
Stones, who has made 81 caps for the Three Lions since his debut in 2014, will captain his nation for the first time at the start of a match.
During Gareth Southgate's tenure, only Kane (81) and Kyle Walker (70) made more appearances than Stones (68 - level with Jordan Pickford).
The Manchester City defender has become a mainstay in the England side in recent years, helping his nation to their two major tournament final appearances in consecutive European Championships.
"It's everything I could have dreamed of as a kid. More for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment," Stones said.
"One I can't thank Lee enough for. An incredible moment for me.
"To be walking out with the armband on is an absolute honour and a moment I'll cherish forever."
"It was a great conversation I was able to have with John to ask him to captain the team," Carsley added.
"It's a brilliant achievement, something he deserves with the amount of caps he's got, the level of professionalism he's shown, the example he is to young players."
Carsley later confirmed Kane could still play a part against Greece and would be in the running to face Finland on Sunday.
Kane, who marked his 100th England appearance with two goals in the Three Lions' 2-0 win over Finland last month, suffered an ankle injury in Bayern Munich's draw with Bayer Leverkusen in his final match before the international break.
The 31-year-old has since trained away from the main group of players.
"Harry is nursing an injury, a small knock, something we won't take a chance with," said Carsley.
The interim Three Lions boss was also asked about the role of Cole Palmer, with the Chelsea forward enjoying a fine start to the Premier League campaign.
Palmer has scored six goals in seven games in the league this term, four of which came in a stunning display against Brighton, becoming the first player in Premier League history to net four times before half-time in a single match.
The 22-year-old leads the Premier League for the most goal involvements this campaign (11), with only Bukayo Saka (27) creating more chances in the top flight this season than Palmer (23 - level with Andreas Pereira and Dwight McNeil).
Palmer was also recently named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24, and Carsley expects him to carry on his impressive form in England's next two fixtures.
"Cole is in fantastic form. He's carried that into this week," said Carsley. "Such an exciting player, a player I've worked with for four, five years now.
"Cole, along with a lot of other attacking players who have put themselves into a great position to start the game."
Layzell enjoys dream Women's Champions League debut as Man City stun holders Barcelona
Naomi Layzell enjoyed a dream Women's Champions League debut as her goal and assist helped Manchester City stun holders Barcelona 2-0 on Wednesday.
Layzell was playing her football in the Women's Super League last season with relegated Bristol City, but was the star of the show at the Joie Stadium.
City were making their first appearance in the competition since falling to a 4-2 quarter-final loss to the Catalan side in March 2021, and exacted their revenge with a plucky display.
The hosts, however, almost found themselves a goal behind with just three minutes on the clock when Caroline Hansen took aim and saw her effort cannon off the post, shortly before Lauren Hemp struck the woodwork with a strike of her own.
City grew into the contest and almost got the goal their performance merited in the 35th minute when Vivianne Miedema teed up Khadija Shaw, only to see her effort saved by Cata Coll.
But from the resulting corner, Gareth Taylor's side got their noses in front as Miedema brilliantly headed the ball back into the danger area, with Layzell sliding in to mark her Champions League debut with a goal.
Barcelona had only failed to score once in their past 79 games heading into the encounter, and improved after the interval in their search for an equaliser.
Aitana Bonmati forced Ayaka Yamashita into making a smart save down to her right, with substitute Claudia Pina going close from distance as City were forced to withstand a relentless wave of pressure from the defending champions.
But the hosts landed a sucker punch in the 77th minute on the counter, with Layzell turning provider for Shaw, with the striker riding the challenge of Patri Guijarro before rounding Coll to seal a memorable triumph for City.
The Citizens ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.68 compared to Barca's 1.5, despite having four fewer shots than their opponents.
Taylor's side sit level on points with Hammarby in Group D, after the Swedish side beat Austria's St. Polten 2-0 earlier on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Juventus edged out Norwegian side Valerenga to kickstart their campaign with a victory at the Intility Arena.
Sofia Cantore's 29th minute strike proved to be the difference, with the Italian curling a fine right-footed effort beyond the grasp of Tove Enblom against the run of play.
Juventus continued to struggle throughout the contest, with Valerenga registering 25 shots, with six of those on target, ending with an xG total of 2.2.
Massimiliano Canzi's side go level with Bayern Munich at the top of the Group C following the German side's 5-2 thumping of Arsenal.
Klopp returns to football as Red Bull's head of global soccer
Jurgen Klopp has landed his first role since leaving Liverpool, with the German announced as the new global head of soccer at Red Bull.
Klopp, who ended his nine-year stint at Anfield earlier this year, has signed a long-term deal with the energy drinks brand, believed to be a five-year contract.
He will be responsible at the strategic management level for Red Bull's international network of clubs, which includes RB Leipzig, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino and Red Bull Salzburg, who are managed by former assistant, Pep Lijnders.
Red Bull says Klopp will not be involved in day-to-day operations but will advise teams on playing philosophy, transfer strategy and coaching development.
Klopp will officially begin in the role at the start of next year.
"A few months ago I said I don't see myself on the sidelines any more and that is still the case," Klopp said on Instagram.
"But I still love football, I still love working, and Red Bull gives me the perfect platform for that."
Klopp has been on a break since leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, after a successful reign at Anfield.
During his time on Merseyside, Klopp won eight major honours, including ending the Reds' 30-year wait for a first Premier League title four years ago.
The German took charge of 489 games, winning 304 (D100 L85), with only Bill Shankly (729) and Bob Paisley (532) overseeing more matches than Klopp.
After leaving, the 57-year-old said he did not want to take a coaching role for the foreseeable future, but is understood to have secured an exit clause that especially applies to the Germany national team.
But for the time being, Klopp wants to use his experiences in his new role ahead of a potential return to the dugout.
"I want to share the experiences I have collected over the years," said Klopp.
"We all know there are more successful managers out there but in my career I have fought for promotion, fought for titles and I have fought for trophies.
"Sometimes we failed, sometimes we succeeded and dealing with that is not easy, but it is possible.
"Then I want to learn again. Because when you are in the job, and you have to play every three days, you barely have the time.
"I want to see, feel and figure out what is useful for football, developing football a little bit as well."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
