Gary Rowett makes exciting Birmingham City prediction as he assesses club's future

Gary Rowett believes that the future is bright for Birmingham City - despite seeing the club relegated from the Championship under his stewardship.

Rowett was returning to work as a pundit for Sky Sports studio - after taking his leave following City's recent relegation at the end of the season. Rowett was summoned back to Blues by Knighthead as they attempted to remain in the Championship in the absence of Tony Mowbray, who has required medical treatment these past couple of months.

Rowett, 50, was given eight matches to try to keep Blues in the division - despite claiming a healthy return of 11 points from those games, Blues over 46 matches hadn't done enough and League One now beckons after a turbulent 13-year period in the second tier. Rowett, who left Millwall earlier this season, now awaits his next managerial challenge.

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When asked if he had any regrets on his decision to try and save Blues from the drop, he stood firm on his decision and believes it was the right one to make at the time.

He stated: "None at all. I knew when I was going into it that it was a slightly unusual position. It would have been very easy for me as a manager to have left it alone and waited for the next job.

"It just felt like perhaps I could go in and try and keep the team and the club in the division because they have flirted with the relegation zone for a number of years.

"We were disappointed because we felt like winning on the last game would have been enough. We had won three of the four home games but when you look at Stoke, Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall they all won consecutive games and performed well at the end of the season. You have to congratulate them on that.

"Blues shouldn't have been where they were but sometimes it's to do with the balance of the squad and needing players who can do the dirty work, and then when you have different managers, the different managers want different things.

"The club supported that but when you have to make the change again, you are left with a different group for a different style.

"There should be a feeling among the players that they want to be part of what should be a really exciting rebuild.

"The club and owners have really big plans, but they need a team that can match that on the pitch."