Wayne Rooney will reportedly be joined by Manchester United legend John O'Shea if he ends up taking the Birmingham job.
The former England international has been heavily linked to the vacant position since his departure from DC United this past weekend, after the MLS side failed to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs. Rooney had been at the club for the past year but admitted it was now time to return home to England, citing his family as his main reason for leaving the United States.
Speaking to the media after news of him leaving the club was announced, the 37-year-old said: "It's the right time. I've done everything I can to get this club into the playoffs. It's not a single thing that's happened. It's about timing. I've really enjoyed my time here. I've had a lot of great help from the owners… I just feel like it's the right time for me to go back to England, first to obviously see my family. I haven't seen them for a long time."
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Just days after his return to England, Birmingham sacked John Eustace despite the club sitting sixth in the Championship, fuelling rumours that the club have their eyes set on Rooney as their next manager. According to BBC 5 Live, Man United's record goalscorer will be joined by Ashley Cole and John O'Shea as part of his coaching staff at St Andrews.
Cole, regarded by many as the greatest left-back in Premier League history, was an international team-mate of Rooney for 11 years, while O'Shea spent seven years with the former forward at Manchester United where the pair won four Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy together.
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Since retirement, former Arsenal and Chelsea star Cole has had coaching stints at Derby County, Chelsea and Everton, while O'Shea was a first-team coach at Stoke before leaving that role earlier this year to concentrate on his assistant manager job with the Republic of Ireland national team. Should the pair join Rooney at the Championship outfit, they'll do so with the club in good stead, having won five of their opening 11 games as Birmingham sit in the playoff places.
In the statement Birmingham released to announce the sacking of Eustace, they stated the brand of football they expect with their new manager, as it read: "A new first team manager will be announced in the coming days who will be responsible for creating an identity and clear โno fearโ playing style that all Birmingham City teams will adopt and embrace."
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