Why Birmingham City should replace Pep Clotet with Mark Robins
According to TEAMtalk (h/t Coventry Telegraph), Birmingham City have set their sights on Coventry City boss Mark Robins as a replacement for current caretaker head-coach Pep Clotet.
As per the report, Clotet is currently on the brink of a sack following a string of unimpressive results in the Championship and the Blues have identified the former Man United striker as someone who perfectly fits the bill.
The 49-year-old put pen to paper on a new contract with Coventry City in October amid speculations linking him with a move to Sunderland, who eventually appointed Phil Parkinson to replace Jack Ross. (h/t Coventry Telegraph)
Having previously worked as the assistant manager at St. Andrew’s, Clotet took over the reins as the caretaker boss from Garry Monk, who parted company with Birmingham City prior to the start of the campaign due to his differences with the board.
The 42-year-old Spaniard hasn’t done a bad job since his appointment as the caretaker manager back in the summer, guiding the Blues to 7 wins in 19 league outings so far.
However, with Birmingham City slipping down to 15th place in the standings following a recent winless run of five games in the Championship, the club hierarchy seem to have set their sights on a long-term replacement.
The Blues have secured unimpressive 1-1 draws in each of their last three league outings against Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall, and those results do not seem to have gone down well with the hierarchy, who have apparently started planning for life beyond Clotet.
Meanwhile, Mark Robins has worked wonders since his return to Coventry City for a second managerial stint in March 2017, having previously served at the helm of affairs for the Sky Blues between September 2012 and February 2013.
Robins guided Coventry City to a triumphant EFL Trophy campaign in his 2016-17 season before helping the Sky Blues secure promotion to League One via the League Two playoffs in the following season.
Having gone from strength to strength under the stewardship of Robins, Coventry City currently find themselves as promotion hopefuls in the third-tier this term after securing an 8th-place finish in League One last season.
The Sky Blues are currently placed 5th in the standings in League One and haven’t lost a league fixture since a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tranmere Rovers back in October.
Coventry have only gone down the Football League system since their relegation from the Premier League back in 2001 but Robins’ tenure has witnessed a welcome upturn of fortunes.
To put things into perspective, Birmingham City currently seem to be heading towards mid-table obscurity under Pep Clotet following an inconsistent start to the campaign and the appointment of Mark Robins could come as a piece of welcome news to the club faithful.
Despite accumulating a few impressive results, the Blues have struggled to attain that much-needed consistency required to challenge for a top-six finish in the Championship, and a change at the helm of affairs could just be the inspiration that they need to push on for greater heights.
One might argue that Clotet deserves more time to impose his philosophy by bringing in players of his choice, but it is worth pointing out that several of his gambles during the summer window, which included the recruitment of little-known entities from Spain, haven’t paid off.
Robins, who played across different divisions in English football during his days as a professional footballer, already boasts of a wealth of managerial experience in the Football League, having previously been in charge of Rotherham United, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Scunthorpe United.
To that end, the 49-year-old, who seems to have a better know-how of the English game when compared to someone like Clotet, could be a handy option for Birmingham City moving forward.
Verdict
Robins has already earned plenty of plaudits for his work at Coventry City and the Blues need someone like him to extract the best out of the existing players, something that Clotet has struggled to do so far this season.
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With that in mind, Birmingham City’s interest in Mark Robins makes perfect sense and he could well be the man to guide the Blues back to the Premier League in the years to come.