‘We don’t think so’ – The lowdown as Birmingham City boss John Eustace ‘placed on Rangers manager shortlist’

Birmingham City manager John Eustace has reportedly been eyed by Rangers as a potential candidate to replace Michael Beale at the Ibrox Stadium.

The Scottish Premiership side lost to arch-rivals Celtic at the weekend and head into the international break in fourth place, four points behind the Hoops.

To make things worse, the UEFA Champions League journey was over before it even started as PSV Eindhoven thrashed Rangers by five goals to one last week.

Beale has been put under extreme pressure at the start of the season and reports have already been surfacing to link various other managers to the hot seat.

Eustace is one of these, according to The Daily Mail. It’s claimed Birmingham’s head coach is “emerging as an early candidate” with the “pressure mounting on Beale”.

Could John Eustace really go to Rangers?

It comes as no surprise that Eustace is being linked with such a big job as he has done a fantastic job at Blues, keeping them up last season and starting 2023/24 in style.

The likes of Tom Brady and Tom Wagner might well be involved now after a takeover but Eustace had very limited resources last campaign and still survived relegation.

It was actually Birminhgam’s best points total since the 2016/17 campaign. Now, five games into the new term, Blues are flying high in fourth position.

Would Eustace really leave St Andrew’s if Rangers were to come in with an official offer, though? Well, it would definitely be tempting given the status of the role, but not an easy call.

The manager, who is himself from the Birmingham area and cares deeply about the club, has been so clear in exaggerating the togetherness he has helped build.

We think it’s unlikely he would be willing to give that up, especially at such an exciting period in Blues’ history and a potential play-off fight upcoming for the season ahead.

John Eustace loves what Birmingham City stands for

Of course, Rangers is a wonderful club with an incredibly rich history and it’s one Eustace is bound to have a lot of respect for, but his love for Birmingham may be too strong.

One game that meant a lot and encapsulated Eustace’s emotional attachment to the club was the 2-0 win over local rivals West Bromwich Albion in February.

The result completed a first league double over the Baggies in nearly a quarter of a century and the manager couldn’t have been prouder of his side.

“All our performances have been with fight, grit, togetherness and determination. We’re not always going to be winning but today really showed what Birmingham is all about, “Eustace said.

“We’re working class and we look out for each other through the highs and lows. We’ve just hot to keep working hard and that’s something I’m trying to instill in the group.

“It just shows when you get knocked and people doubt you, the players can really get together and show what they’re about. I couldn’t be prouder of the players and fans.” Eustace continued.

That wasn’t the only time he spoke so fondly about his connection with Blues but it was one of the most poignant. Could he seriously leave that behind at such a high point? We don’t think so.