Birmingham City look to appoint ex-Blues player after St Andrew's exit | OneFootball

Blues are looking to make a key managerial change in the coming days

Birmingham City have seen plenty of change occur at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in recent seasons, as the club look to return to the Premier League in the coming years.

After previously stagnating in the Championship between the years of 2011 and 2024, Tom Wagner's ownership of the club has brought about a new way of forward-thinking in this part of the Second City, as Chris Davies has found out at first-hand since his appointment as manager in June 2024.

Following their chaotic relegation campaign in 2023/24, Birmingham responded to their setback in emphatic fashion by romping to the League One title through the accumulation of 111 points, a feat never achieved by any other club in the history of the English Football League.

As such, plenty of eyes have been cast on developments both on and off the pitch at St. Andrew's during Blues' current second tier campaign.

At various points, Davies has become the subject of criticism from some sections of the fanbase, largely after an inconsistent first half of the season despite continued hefty investment from Knighthead Capital Management - fronted by the aforementioned Wagner.

However, the American has continued to back the 40-year-old, and it is a decision that could pay off in the final 14 games of the regular Championship season as Birmingham are just two points outside the play-offs heading into the final week of February.

But, the board have now turned their focus to yet another key managerial decision, and one which involves a name well-known to supporters of a certain generation.

According to Football Insider, Birmingham are plotting a move for Mark Cooper to become the club's Under-21s manager, following the departure of Mark Kennedy last week.

The former Lincoln City boss was installed in the aforementioned role last June, and helped oversee Blues' Under-21s first-ever season as a Premier League 2 side after the academy was granted Category One status at the end of last season.

Birmingham's Under-21s side are currently positioned in 25th in the 29-team league, having accumulated 12 points from as many matches so far this season, with just three victories under their belt.

The reasoning behind Kennedy's exit on February 12th has not been disclosed, but Cooper has now emerged as a prime target to take the role on, with the 57-year-old currently out of work.

The Wakefield-born man was previously in charge of Yeovil Town in the National League, but was dismissed at Huish Park in August 2025 after a poor start to the season for the Glovers.

Cooper is no stranger to St. Andrew's, though, having played 39 times for Blues between 1991 and 1992 as the club achieved promotion from the third tier into the then-named First Division under the management of his father, the late Leeds United legend, Terry.

At present, the prospect of working for Birmingham in any capacity is an exciting prospect as a result of the club's ambitious plans.

With the academy currently based at the Knighthead Performance Centre at Wast Hills, they are set to link-up with the first-team and women's team at a new facility that will help form part of the Sports Quarter regeneration project next to the 62,000-seater Powerhouse stadium.

Given the calibre of players which Blues' academy have recently produced, such as Jude and Jobe Bellingham, Jordan James and current winger, Demarai Gray, Cooper would hope to unearth the latest homegrown talents capable of making the step-up into the first-team fold.