Wayne Rooney could prove to be an unwanted VIP guest at Birmingham City | Ben Fisher

The sacked John Eustace stabilised a club that lurched from one crisis to another, but the board wanted a big name

So, and this will hardly come as any great surprise to the more eagle‑eyed Birmingham City supporters, it turns out there was a reason Wayne Rooney’s 13-year-old son, Kai, recently set about following Gary Gardner, Neil Etheridge and the Birmingham City Community Trust on Instagram after all. It would be a bizarre rabbit hole to burrow at the best of times but all makes sense given Rooney is primed to take charge at the Championship club, succeeding John Eustace, who was sacked with the team nestled in the playoff spots.

A fine reward for a promising start to the season? Birmingham, a club that had until recently lurched from one crisis to another, have not finished above 17th in the division for seven years. At this point, and in an ideal world it would not need saying, it is important to decry abusive messages reportedly sent towards Rooney’s eldest as a result of his social-media spree for what they are: deplorable behaviour. Let’s face it, it did not take Poirot – or Wagatha Christie, if you prefer – to uncover Birmingham’s desire to bring in Rooney.