To the surprise of many, Birmingham City announced that they have sacked Gary Rowett despite sitting in 7th place in the league table.

The news has not gone down well with the Birmingham City faithful who are utterly shocked at the decision to sack arguably one of the best managers in the Sky Bet Championship.

Rowett took the Blues from the brink of relegation to promotion contenders on a very small budget, and there is no doubt that the former Burton Albion boss will not struggle to find another job any time soon.

His replacement is unknown though they have huge shoes to fill after Rowett's impressive time as manager there.

After sacking Rowett, the Birmingham City owners need to be extremely ambitious in their pursuit for a new manager to please the fans.

So here are three potential replacements for Gary Rowett at Birmingham City.....

 

Nigel Pearson

Some would argue that Rowett is a better manager than Pearson, though the former Leicester City boss does have experience of winning promotion to the Premier League.

After a disastrous spell at Derby earlier this season, Pearson himself has to prove himself once again and taking Birmingham City to the Premier League would be the perfect way of doing this.

His passion and experience is excellent and Blues fans would welcome that, though whether he is an upgrade on Rowett can certainly be debated.

Sam Allardyce

It is ambitious, but it is exactly the sort of high profile name that they need to impress fans.

He has experience of winning promotion from the Championship and plays an effective style of football that gets results much like Gary Rowett did.

Like Pearson, after his debacle with England, Allardyce will want to achieve success somewhere and St Andrews might just be the ideal place to do that.

Gianfranco Zola

I am sure many would choose Gary Rowett over Gianfranco Zola, but the former Watford boss has emerged as the early favourite to take over the reigns at St Andrews.

Zola was unlucky not to get the Hornets promoted to the Premier League during his time time, losing in the play off final to Crystal Palace, and got them playing a brand of football that was exciting and attractive to watch.

However, Zola has struggled to achieve success anywhere in his managerial career so far and although he may be a potential replacement, whether he is the man for the job can certainly be questioned.

Birmingham City fans... Would you be happy with any of these potential replacements? Or would you have preferred Rowett above all of them? Who would you choose to bring in? Let us know what you think in the comments below!