John Eustace speaks out on Birmingham City's relegation after being sacked for Wayne Rooney

John Eustace was sacked by Birmingham City in October after a strong start to the season - and he was quick to send a message to his former club after their relegation was confirmed

John Eustace admitted he was sad to see Birmingham City relegated, despite being sacked by the now-League One club earlier this season.

The club's new owners parted company with Eustace last year despite Blues finding themselves in the play-off spots at the time. That opened the door for Wayne Rooney, who oversaw a troubling decline that continued until he was fired after 15 games.

Eustace was then hired by Blackburn Rovers, who condemned Birmingham to relegation with their final day win over champions Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Blues did their job on the last day, beating Norwich 1-0 at St Andrew's, but Blackburn's result, twinned with Plymouth's win over Hull condemned the second city outfit to the third tier for the first time in almost 30 years.

But rather than take any joy in his former side's despair, Eustace revealed he didn't want Blues to go down - and only discovered their fate after the final whistle in the East Midlands.

He said: "I didn't have a clue what the scores were, I wasn't interested in anyone else. I only cared that we were doing the right things and we did. I was very confident we'd come here and be competitive and we have."

On Blues, he added: "My job was to come in and keep Blackburn up. I didn't want Birmingham to go down, they are a club close to my heart and I have a lot of friends there. But my focus was here.

"It'd been a fantastic start to the season to leave Birmingham in sixth position. Now to keep Blackburn up has been a group effort. We've never doubted ourselves."

Image: Cameron Smith) Cameron Smith)

Gary Rowett, who took charge at St Andrew's on the final day, making him Blues' sixth manager of the season following Eustace, Rooney, Steve Spooner, Tony Mowbray and his assistant Mark Venus, pointed out that maintaining consistent performances has been challenging for the squad.

"Sometimes it's easier on a last day when you've got to do it," Rowett remarked. "It's more difficult if you've got to do it on a Wednesday night in November somewhere when the weather's not so nice when it doesn't feel like it matters so much. That's probably why the team is in the position it's in."

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