Wayne Rooney revealed he knew Birmingham fans wouldn’t accept him from the moment he arrived at St Andrew’s and insisted the Blues were “in a false position” when he joined.
Manchester United great replaced John Eustace in October but was sacked last month after winning just two of his 15 games in charge and losing nine.
Birmingham were sixth in the Championship when Rooney was appointed, but when he was sacked they were just six points above the relegation zone.
The former England striker, however, insisted the Blues had exceeded his expectations with Eustace before his arrival.
“I think they (Birmingham City) were in a false position (when I arrived), but you back yourself,” Rooney said in the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast with sky bet.
Wayne Rooney believes he never had the chance to succeed in Birmingham
Rooney was sacked in January after just three months in charge of St Andrew’s.
‘I’m someone who’s always done that, I’ve always been a confident person.
“To be fair, the first five games we had were probably the five hardest games of the season, so that didn’t help what happened at the end.
“I backed myself, it wasn’t worth it, so I’ll move on.”
Birmingham have won three of their six league games since Rooney was replaced by Tony Mowbray, who has since stepped down to deal with a serious illness, but remain just six points clear of the relegation zone.
Rooney’s position came under scrutiny almost immediately since he replaced Eustace and he felt he would never win over the fans.
“Birmingham City fans didn’t accept me from day one,” he said.
“To be fair to him, John Eustace had done a good job, but they made the change and asked me to come in.
“I entered, but I immediately knew that the fans did not accept me.
“I think it was more because John Eustace had done well. They were in sixth place when he was fired.
“If you’re a Birmingham fan, it’s been the last ten years and they’re close to the play-offs (I know it was at the start of the season) and then they sack the manager.
Rooney said he felt he was never accepted by Birmingham fans in his three months in charge.
“They had the situation with (Gianfranco) Zola a couple of years ago and that also comes to mind.”
Rooney’s appointment is a major move by the American Knighthead consortium, which includes NFL great Tom Brady and took charge of the club last summer.
The experiment failed spectacularly, but the former Everton and United star felt he never had the chance to succeed.
“You’re always looking for momentum and that first win is important; in our first five games we didn’t get it.” Then came the international break,” he said.
“Before coming in, I talked to the owners about how they wanted the team to play, how I wanted to play, we were all aligned on what we wanted.
“The one thing we all knew was that we needed players in January. That was really my only disappointment, that we got to January and they didn’t give me the opportunity to bring in players – that was part of the discussions and we knew we needed them.
The Blues won just twice in the 15 games Rooney was in charge before he was sacked in January.
‘If you look at all the messages from me and the (City of Birmingham) owners, this was a long-term plan. Of course, in the short term we did not get the results we wanted.
“I understand that owners have to make decisions, but not letting me get the players in January was disappointing. It was a shock when it happened.”
Wayne Rooney spoke at the Stay with football podcast, presented by sky bet