, Lee Bowyer reviews Charlton Athletic ‘controversy’ and how he ‘can’t see’ troubled waters at Birmingham City

Lee Bowyer reviews Charlton Athletic ‘controversy’ and how he ‘can’t see’ troubled waters at Birmingham City

Birmingham City manager Lee Bowyer has spoken to Sky Sports about the challenge that lies ahead of him.

Bowyer left Charlton Athletic to join a former playing club of his in Birmingham City last month. His tenure at The Valley had drawn to a close and he took over from Aitor Karanka at St Andrew’s, with his new side battling relegation into League One.

He claimed a win in his first outing as Blues manager, losing the next to Watford. But Bowyer’s arrival has given the whole club a boost in their fight for Championship survival.

, Lee Bowyer reviews Charlton Athletic ‘controversy’ and how he ‘can’t see’ troubled waters at Birmingham City

It’s a difficult job though – the club’s CEO Xuandong Ren has often come under scrutiny, and many expect Bowyer to have a tough time working with him.

But speaking to Sky Sports News, Bowyer gave an honest insight into how he views the task at hand:

“I do like a challenge. But if I didn’t believe that this group of players could do more, and stay in this division, then I wouldn’t have come here. But I am here and I believe in them.”

Bowyer had a lot of off-field controversy to manage through whilst at Charlton – last season the club were embroiled in a takeover saga which undoubtedly contributed to their Championship demise.

READ: Premier League giants could turn to this Championship man in the summer

“I believe anything that gets thrown at me here will be nothing like what I’ve had to deal with in the past,” Bowyer explained.

“I’ve come here and everything has been great, everyone has made me feel welcome in and around the training ground, and outside with messages. And I’ve got a group of players that are working hard every single day, improving every single day.”

Bowyer is hopeful that his tenure at Birmingham won’t be as fuelled by controversy as his stint at Charlton Athletic. But Blues fans are berating Ren’s influence now more than ever, and they expect inevitable conflicts whilst Bowyer is at the helm.

“I hope there’s not going to be anything here, and I can’t see it, like what I had to deal with in the past,” Bowyer said. “It’s a breath of fresh air being here at the moment.

“Obviously I had to deal with a hell of a lot of things that I shouldn’t have been dealing with but it was either that or watch the club crumble so I had to step up and juggle a lot more things than I would have liked, but that’s not the case here.”

, Lee Bowyer reviews Charlton Athletic ‘controversy’ and how he ‘can’t see’ troubled waters at Birmingham City

Birmingham City are one of the Championship’s most historic and followed clubs. They’re a team that should be playing regular Premier League football but for a number of reasons, that’s not been the case in a long time.

In Bowyer though, fans finally have a manager they can rally behind – should they fend off relegation this season, then fans will be optimistic of what the season after can bring, but still weary of the potential controversy that could arise with Ren still at the club.

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