Gary Rowett returns to manage Birmingham City

Gary Rowett has been appointed manager of Birmingham City, returning to the club he played for to take on the task of lifting it away from the bottom of the Championship.

Rowett, who has been managing Burton Albion, was named as Lee Clark's successor on 27 October, a week after Clark and his assistant Steve Watson were sacked.

Clark's departure

Clark was sacked on 20 October, with Blues 21st in the table and having won only once at home in the league in more than a year. Hours earlier, he had held his usual press conference ahead of the next day's match at Blackburn Rovers.

Coach Richard Beale and chief scout Malcolm Crosby took temporary charge of the team.

Clark kept the club in the Championship in two difficult seasons, including on the last day of last season, when Paul Caddis scored in the 93rd minute at Bolton Wanderers to secure survival. But this season began badly, with a run of poor results at St Andrew's in particular.

Who is Gary Rowett?

Rowett played for Blues in the late 1990s and was a popular figure with supporters. As a manager, he has impressed at Burton Albion, where he took the club to the League Two play-off final last season and has them near the top of the table this season.

He has a reputation as a thoughtful, organised coach who gets the best out of limited resources, which will be put to the test at a club where money is tight.

A difficult time for the club

Birmingham City has been in turmoil off the pitch for several years. The club's owner, Carson Yeung, was convicted of money laundering in Hong Kong earlier this year and jailed, and the club's parent company has been dogged by financial problems and boardroom disputes.

The club was relegated from the Premier League in 2011, the same year it won the League Cup, beating Arsenal at Wembley. Since then, players have been sold to balance the books, and the team has struggled.

The task ahead

Rowett's first job will be to make Blues hard to beat and to improve their home form, which has been poor. He takes over a young squad, with several players on loan, and will have little money to spend.

Supporters will hope that his knowledge of the club and his success at Burton can help turn things round. With more than half the season still to play, there is time to climb clear of danger, but the gap to the teams above is growing.

After years of disappointment, Blues fans will be hoping that one of their own can bring some stability and hope back to St Andrew's.