'Tremendous' - Gary Rowett makes Birmingham City claim ahead of return

Birmingham City latest news | Rowett was sacked by BCFC in December 2016, and he has since returned with Derby and Stoke - now he leads new side Millwall to St Andrew's

Gary Rowett has reiterated how much he enjoyed his time in charge of Birmingham City as he prepares to lead new employers Millwall to St Andrew’s this weekend - and says Blues fans are among the best in the division.

Rowett was sacked by Blues in December 2016 with Blues on the cusp of the play-offs, to the surprise of many. They’d eventually need rescuing by Harry Redknapp after Rowett’s successor Gianfranco Zola endured a disastrous tenure.

Many claims have been made about Rowett’s loyalty to Blues during his time at the club, but the man himself has once again moved to deny such accusations that he was open to leaving for a move elsewhere and was focusing on the job he was doing at Blues.

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“People have spoken about it since and said, ‘he wanted to leave’,” Rowett said, “But if a manager wants to leave and you have a clause in your contract that says so, then you can leave. I think it’s clear to see that I didn’t want to leave.

“I felt we were building something good. As soon as someone does that to you then your mindset changes and focuses on what you have to do in the future to get success and improve as a manager. It’s as simple as that.

“I loved my time there, I’ve got a lot of fond memories. The fan base are tremendous, one of the best in the Championship. It’s good to go back.

“I’m sure I’m bound to get a little bit of stick which is a shame but that’s how it goes.”

This isn’t Rowett’s first time back at B9, of course.

He led Derby County to victory on two occasions, but was outdone by Garry Monk’s Blues while at the Stoke City helm last term.

Rowett was eventually sacked by the Potters after underachieving in the first half of the season, his second Championship axing in a little over two years.

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Rowett maintains that ambitious owners are entitled to make whatever decisions they see fit.

“We’ve been back three times and have won twice and lost once,” Rowett reasoned. “It will be a difficult challenge but one we’ll look forward to.

“I think at Stoke where perhaps you haven’t performed to the level people expected and you get sacked you can understand it.

“We were three points off third with, I think, the third-lowest budget in the division [while at Blues], but I’ve said it before: I’ve no problem because if an owner invests a hell of a lot of money in a football club, it’s a business, they can do whatever they want.

“They’re entitled to do what they want. I don’t even necessarily blame the owners.”