Birmingham City: Wayne Rooney will turn Blues around, says ex-academy boss Neil Dewsnip
- Published
Plymouth director of football Neil Dewsnip will be in the opposing dugout against Wayne Rooney's Birmingham on Saturday
Wayne Rooney's old Everton academy boss is confident the England legend will succeed at Birmingham City, despite his indifferent start at St Andrew's.
On Saturday Rooney's Blues go to Plymouth, who have director of football Neil Dewsnip in charge following Steven Schumacher's midweek move to Stoke.
"He'll find it quite amusing that it's going to be me on the touchline, I'm sure," Dewsnip told BBC Sport.
"I first came across Wayne when he was nine or 10 years of age," he added.
"I coached not just Wayne in the Everton academy but his two younger brothers too. And I know the family extremely well."
Rooney's Blues head for Home Park on the back of just two wins in 11 games, as his side begin to come to terms with the complicated tactical rebuilding job the former Everton, Manchester United and England star and his backroom team have taken on, in a bid to generate more expansive, entertaining and globally eye-catching football.
City's past two games have brought the biggest glimmers of hope yet - Blues' first away win under Rooney, at Cardiff, followed by an encouraging performance on Monday against leaders Leicester City, when Blues dominated early on, were then hit by a freakish Foxes first goal, cut to ribbons a second time but then still had the fight to come close to grabbing a point.
Blues go into the Plymouth game in 17th, level on points with 16th-placed Argyle - and with Rooney under the weather after missing Thursday's pre-match press conference.
As to whether he is also under pressure, that seems highly unlikely, with just two weeks to go the transfer window - and with the chance for Rooney's American bosses to at last start flexing their financial muscles. And, although in opposite dugouts this weekend in Devon, one of the men who knows him best still has total faith.
"I don't know if he's under pressure," said Dewsnip. "I've no idea about that. I've not taken too much notice of that. There's been plenty of other things to occupy my mind recently.
"But what I do know about Wayne is that he is a competitor.
"He was immensely talented as a footballer. That goes without saying, and he will be trying to be exactly the same in management.
"He may have got off to a slow start in terms of results but he'll turn that around."
Plymouth director of football Neil Dewsnip was talking to BBC Sport's Brent Pilnick