- Mowbray replaced Wayne Rooney as Birmingham City manager back in January
- He coached only eight games before taking a medical leave of absence in March
- IAN LADYMAN: Arsenal will win the Premier League next season – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Tony Mowbray has stepped down as Birmingham City manager following a ‘significant and unexpected surgery’.
The 60-year-old joined the Blues in January following Wayne Rooney‘s miserable run as manager.
However, he only coached the side for eight matches, as he took a formal medical leave of absence in March after undergoing surgery for an unknown issue.
In his absence, Birmingham were relegated to League One by just one point, despite their final day victory over Norwich City.
The club and Mowbray in statements have confirmed that he has stepped down as manager with immediate effect.
Mowbray said: ‘As people will be aware, I am currently undertaking a period of extended convalescence following significant and unexpected surgery earlier in the year which required that I take a period of medical absence.
‘Throughout this period, I have watched every Birmingham City game along with every training session, whilst I have remained in positive and constructive dialogue with Tom Wagner, Garry Cook and Craig Gardner.
‘Over the very recent days, it has become apparent to me that I will not be fully fit to resume my duties as Manager of Birmingham City in the timescale that would allow the Club to best prepare for the forthcoming season and therefore, I have regrettably decided to step away from my role at this time.
‘Once I have fully recovered, it is important to me that I then spend some quality time with my wife and my boys before I fully commit to work.
During his time away from the pitch, Mowbray has relied on his wife of 21 years, Amber and their three sons they share together for support.
Although the couple like to keep their relationship out of public eye and private, Mowbray has been on record praising his second wife on numerous occasions for the love and support she has shown him over their 20-plus-year relationship.
No more so than helping him overcome the heartbreak of his first wife’s, Bernadette’s death. Mowbray’s time at Celtic was overshadowed very sadly by the tragic passing of his wife Bernadette on New Year’s Day in 1995.
In an article written by the Glasgow Herald, Mowbray reflected on the struggles he faced after the death of his first wife and how Amber helped bring some life and personality back into his life.
‘I didn’t play very well at all. My personal life was obviously affected after I lost Bernadette and in hindsight my concentration was clearly affected by that loss’.
‘I was living in Suffolk, 350 miles from my home in Middlesbrough and even further away from friends and Bernadette’s family in Glasgow. I just didn’t do myself justice.
‘It was very difficult – but as time moved on, other aspects of my life took over. Eventually I met Amber’.
Birmingham looked to be on a good path with Mowbray, who claimed victory in four of his eight matches at the helm and also secured progression in the FA Cup.
Gary Rowett stepped in as interim manager for the final eight games of the season, and took victories over Preston, Coventry and Norwich.
However, draws against also-relegated sides Huddersfield and Rotherham proved costly, with Plymouth finishing one point clear after they also won on the final day of the campaign.
Birmingham’s chief executive officer, Gary Cook said: ‘We have been looking forward to Tony returning to the Club and to continue the great work that he started earlier this year. Unfortunately, it is not to be.
‘Preparation for the new season has already begun and Tony told us that, based on his treatment and recovery programme, he would not be able to do the job that is required before the new season begins.
‘I would personally like to commend Tony for informing us of his decision so soon after the end of the season. It provides us the opportunity to undertake a rigorous search process to identify the right leader to take our club forward and have that person in place before the start of pre-season.
‘On behalf of everyone at the Club, and our supporters, I would like to thank Tony for the excellent job that he did for Blues. We wish Tony a full and speedy recovery.’