Birmingham City key man decides to quit playing due to health issues
May 21 (Reuters) – Tony Mowbray will stand down as Birmingham City manager to focus on his complete recovery from major surgery, the club said on Tuesday.
The 60-year-old, who took a break from coaching in February before formally going on medical leave in March, has opted to focus on his health and spending time with his family, according to the third-tier club.
“I would like to personally commend Tony for informing us of his decision so soon after the end of the season,” Birmingham City CEO Garry Cook said in a statement.
“It provides us the opportunity to undertake a rigorous search process to identify the right leader to take our club forward and have that person in place before the start of pre-season.”
Mowbray joined Birmingham in January, when Wayne Rooney was fired. He won four of his eight matches in charge, including successive Championship (second division) victories over previous teams Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland.
Birmingham had named Gary Rowett as temporary manager for the final eight games of the season. Despite winning on the penultimate day against Norwich City, they were relegated to League One.
