Gary Rowett ‘puts his foot down’ as key Birmingham City decision assessed

Birmingham City interim manager Gary Rowett has revealed Dion Sanderson will be “judged on form like everyone else” after an off-the-field issue led to a stripping of captaincy.

Sanderson, named Blues skipper at the start of the season, is due to appear in court next week for a drink-driving charge. The 24-year-old was caught for an alleged incident following Birmingham’s dominant 3-0 victory over Coventry City.

Rowett decided to put his foot down as he revoked Sanderson of the armband for the 0-0 draw at Rotherham United last weekend. A more severe punishment would have been dropping the defender entirely but bigger matters are at stake with Birmingham desperately trying to avoid relegation.

Had the episode occurred earlier on in the season, perhaps there would have been a different outcome. But at the business end of the campaign, particularly for the final two matches, having the best players available is vital. As a result, Rowett wants to focus on getting the job done with Sanderson as part of his plans.

“We spoke about the incident straight away, we spoke about the standards we have as a club regardless of the situation on the pitch, and we have tried to make the best decision possible,” Rowett said via Birmingham Live.

“We didn’t feel like the actions should be representative of being the captain, at least short term, we felt there needed to be a disciplinary in terms of being fined. He was quite open about apologising to the rest of the players.

“He made a mistake. Young players can make a mistake, fortunately for him it wasn’t any worse than that. We move on and he will be judged on his form like everyone else,” Rowett continued.

With Marc Roberts and Emanuel Aiwu both fully fit, Sanderson is at slight risk of being dropped for this weekend’s crucial relegation six-pointer at Huddersfield Town. The forgiving attitude of Rowett suggests Blues’ number five should still start, though. As such, Sanderson forms part of Birmingham World’s predicted XI.