Veteran manager Harry Redknapp will be determined to keep Birmingham City up – and his arrival could impact Newcastle United.
If Birmingham City arrest this alarming slide and avoid tumbling into League One before the end of the season, the sudden appointment of Harry Redknapp will look like nothing short of a masterstroke.
At least compared to the hair-ripping decision to dispense with Gary Rowett and bring in Gianfranco ‘big name’ Zola. Just for context purposes, it’s worth remembering that Birmingham were seventh and just a few points outside the play-offs when Rowett was sacked in December.
After Monday’s home defeat to relegation threatened Burton Albion, the Italian resigned. A dismal run of two wins in 24 matches was hardly the ideal way to get a stalling managerial career back on track.
With just three games to go, The Blues are three points above the drop zone with 22nd placed Blackburn Rovers slowly clawing back the points gap. Redknapp, who has not coached in league football since leaving QPR in January 2015, has taken on one of the most daunting challenges of his 34 year managerial career.
However, one club who should be feeling all the more positive following the veteran’s return to club football is Newcastle United. Rafael Benitez’s side have hardly embarked on a season-destroying run of Birmingham proportions but, a sequence of two wins in eight means they are in danger of sensationally screwing up their automatic promotion hopes.
If Huddersfield Town win their game in hand, they will be just four points behind with three fixtures to play. Therefore, Redknapp being parachuted into a St Andrews salvage job could not have come at a better time.
After all, Birmingham play Huddersfield in their final home game of the season on April 29th. The Blues have clearly appointed Redknapp in the hope of an immediate ‘new manager bounce’ and, if he gets the better of David Wagner in a fortnight’s time, Newcastle will surely edge across the line at last.
Though they shouldn’t really need this helping hand.
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