Breaking: Birmingham City’s rivals have fired manager

Plymouth Argyle, Birmingham City’s survival opponents, have fired manager Ian Foster with only six league games remaining.

Foster, who took over for Steve Schumacher earlier this season when he departed Home Park to take over at Stoke City, had overseen eight defeats in the Pilgrims’ last 11 games, a sequence that has seen them fall from mid-table to relegation contention.

Plymouth lost to Bristol City on Easter Monday after being narrowly defeated by promotion-chasing Norwich City on Good Friday. With wins over the Easter weekend by Blues, Stoke, QPR, and Blackburn, Plymouth is hovering precariously just above the relegation zone, and the club, back in the second tier for the first time in several years, has decided to act to give themselves the best chance of remaining in the division.

“Ian was hired through a thorough and extensive recruitment process and his coaching credentials really stood out when making the appointment, but we have to balance long-term stability against short-term decisions, and we have given Ian as long as possible to see if results could improve,” the club said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, that has not been the case, and we believe now is the moment to make a change to improve our chances of survival. As always, the Green Army has been great in recent weeks, and we need you all to continue your support as we enter the last weeks of the campaign, led by Neil (Dewsnip) and Nance (Kevin Nancekivell). Together, we can accomplish what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.”

Blues got four points from their two meetings with Plymouth this season, including a thrilling victory at St Andrew’s at the start of the season when Jay Stansfield scored deep into stoppage time. Blues threw away a two-goal lead at Home Park under Wayne Rooney, who was reduced to ten men after Krystian Bielik was sent off, and drew 3-3 soon before Christmas.

Their victory over Preston North End at St Andrew’s on Monday provided enormous comfort, despite the fact that there is still much work to be done as interim manager Gary Rowett attempts to lead the team away from the prospect of relegation. With Stoke City and Huddersfield Town tied on points, and QPR pushing away from the bottom three, the race to avoid relegation is heating up.