Wayne Rooney will take time to recover from the pain of his abrupt sacking by Birmingham, according to his replacement Tony Mowbray.

The former England captain was dismissed by Blues after just 15 games in charge, during which he won only twice and the club slipped from sixth to 20th in the Championship.

Mowbray is a proven leader in the Championship who led West Bromwich Albion to promotion in 2008 and Birmingham hope he can do a similar job.

‘So you put in a big sacrifice and then when it’s taken away it’s really tough. Wayne will need time to put that clear in his mind.’

Wayne Rooney will need to take time away and will be ‘hurting’ after his Birmingham sacking, says Tony Mowbray 

Mowbray replaces Rooney at St. Andrew’s with the club languishing 20th in the Championship

Rooney’s former team-mates Ashley Cole and John O’Shea remained on the staff when Rooney left and it remains to be seen whether Mowbray retains them, or whether they wish to stay. He is likely to hold talks with the pair, as well as Pete Shuttleworth, another of Rooney’s coaches.

Mowbray took the job after discussions with Blues co-owner Tom Wagner. NFL great Tom Brady is also part of the ownership group and though Mowbray has yet to speak to him, he expects to do so before the end of the campaign.

‘I’m looking forward to speaking to him,’ said Mowbray. ‘He is a huge personality in world sport, particularly US sport. I am sure they will be over soon and will be on the training pitch, so we’ll be having a cup of tea and a chat about what direction we want to go in.’