The former Birmingham City boss was replaced by the Italian in December.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Now at 11:24 am on February 9th, former Blues boss Gary Rowett shared what he told Gianfranco Zola, after the Italian replaced him in the St Andrews hot-seat.
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Birmingham have struggled since Zola’s appointment, and have won just one of the nine Championship games they have played under the stewardship of the former West Ham and Watford manager.
And Rowett spoke to Sky Sports about a phone call he shared with Zola, following his sacking from the club, and insisted he will always be willing to help out the current Blues boss, should he reach out for a word of advice:
Former Birmingham City Manager Gary Rowett
“I understand the reasoning why they wanted to go down a different route, maybe with a manager who might be more popular out in China in terms of marketing. Gianfranco, in all fairness to him, he rang me about a week after getting the job, and I felt that was good. I spoke to him and said, ‘If you need any help on anything, or need my advice on anything, feel free to ask me’, because you can’t just leave something like that behind.”
Birmingham City manager Gianfranco Zola
The former Chelsea star certainly has his work cut-out at Birmingham, if he is to guide his side back into contention for the play-off spots.
They currently sit in 12th position in the Championship table, nine points adrift of sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday.
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And Zola takes his side to Hillsborough on Friday night for their match against Wednesday, where a defeat could all but end their hopes of promotion this season.
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