'We've let them down' - Wayne Rooney gives grim assessment of Birmingham City's shocking defeat to Stoke City as fans call on Tom Brady and Co to sack Man Utd legend

Birmingham found themselves 3-0 down on home soil after 53 minutes before they managed to pull a goal back through Jay Stansfield later in the second half. The defeat left the head coach disappointed as he felt they let their supporters down.

“It wasn’t the result, or the performance, or anything we wanted to be honest," he said. "It was unrecognisable in the way we played. I felt the players didn’t want to take the ball, they didn’t press the way we wanted them to, the goals we conceded are crazy, and we didn’t deserve anything out of the game.”

He added: “Apart from Romelle [Donovan] I’m not happy with one player. Every player’s position is up for grabs because that is nowhere near good enough. When you’ve got fans paying their money to come and watch the players, you’ve got staff working extremely hard, and we’ve let them down - including me. We have to make sure we put that right.”

Birmingham have won just two of the 13 matches they have played in all competitions since Rooney took charge in October. The latest loss leaves them 19th in the Championship - a long way from their target of securing promotion to the Premier League under their owners, who include NFL icon Tom Brady. Their woeful run has resulted in some fans calling for ex-Manchester United and England star Rooney to be sacked.

Birmingham will hope to bounce back in their last game of 2023 when they take on Bristol City on December 29. Bristol are currently eighth in the table and have won three games in a row in the English second-tier, beating Watford 4-1 in their last outing.