Managers who have worked with John Eustace say the same thing about potential Birmingham City coach

John Eustace has been one of the names linked with the managerial vacancy at Birmingham City following the sacking of Lee Bowyer on Saturday.

After making 94 appearances for Blues as a player, Bowyer returned as head coach in March 2021 following the sacking of Aitor Karanka. He took charge of charge 59 games at St Andrew's, winning 17 and losing 26.

Prior to his sacking, Blues were reportedly 'considering installing' Eustace as their new boss for the 2022/23 Championship season. The 42-year-old had previously been linked with the Swansea City vacancy last season following Steve Cooper's exit and now faces a similar situation with the west Midlands club.

As the rumours are set to grow surrounding the next man in the dug-out, takes a look at what some figures in the industry have said about the former Watford and Derby County midfielder.

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny appointed Eustace as his assistant manager in March 2022 following Anthony Barry's move to Belgium. Eustace added the international role alongside his job at QPR and Kenny was full of praise for the Solihull-born coach.

"I've met him a lot at West Brom, because he lives in Birmingham and West Brom is a place I spend a lot of time in, because we've got Jayson Molumby, Dara O'Shea and Callum Robinson playing there, and various other players from visiting teams.

"We could often meet there and have cups of tea and chats over the last year.

"I've seen him coaching at QPR and he has done well, so it just seemed, when I was working out who to bring in to replace Anthony, that he'd be a good candidate.

"I think he's a student of the game, he thinks about the game, we did quite a few video sessions together before he came onboard and we interacted in