The two will meet in the Championship at the end of this month.
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett
Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett has admitted to talkSPORT this morning (14/10/2016) that he thinks Steve Bruce is a good appointment at rival club Aston Villa – and that he even struggles not to wish him well.
Bruce, who is of course a former Birmingham City manager himself, took over at Aston Villa this week – taking over after the recent sacking of Roberto Di Matteo.
Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett
Rowett, whose Birmingham City side are in action against Nottingham Forest tonight, admitted that he does want Bruce to do well and that he doesn’t doubt he will.
He stated:
“Steve’s a good guy as we all know. You kind of wish him success but you don’t want Villa to be too competitive but he’ll know what it’s like.
New Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce during the press conference
“I joked yesterday he’s going to need to get some results quickly or both sets of fans are going to be on his back.
“He’ll pick them up I am sure. I think he is a really good appointment for them.”
Birmingham and Villa are big rivals in the Midlands and whilst Rowett is being quite kind to his counterpart fans of the club are likely to be less forgiving.
New Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce during the press conference
The two clubs do not have to wait long for their first meeting either. The two local rivals will meet in the Championship on the 30th of October, so just a couple of weeks until Bruce and Rowett can go head-to-head for the first time in this derby clash.
It will be interesting to see how kind the words are then.
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