Rooney knew Birmingham fans 'would never accept' him after he replaced Eustace

Wayne Rooney has revealed he knew Birmingham fans would not accept him from the moment he arrived at St Andrew's and insisted the Blues were 'in a false position' when he joined.

The 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 by the time he was sacked they were only six points above the relegation zone.

The former England striker, however, insisted the Blues had overachieved under Eustace prior to his arrival.

'I think they [Birmingham City] were in a false position [when I arrived], but you back yourself,' Rooney said on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast with Sky Bet.

'I’m someone who has always done that, I’ve always been a confident person.

'To be fair, the first five games we had were probably the toughest five games of the season, so that didn’t help with what happened in the end.

'I backed myself – it didn’t pay off – 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 away to deal with a serious illness, but remain just six points clear of the relegation zone.

Rooney's position was almost immediately under scrutiny since he replaced Eustace and he felt he'd never win the fans over.

'Birmingham City fans didn’t accept me from day one,' he said.

'John Eustace had done a good job, to be fair to him, but they made the change and asked me to go in.

'I went in, but I knew straight away that I wasn’t accepted by the fans.

'I think it was more because John Eustace had done well. They were in sixth place when he got sacked.

'If you’re a Birmingham fan, the