Birmingham City last night announced that they had parted company with manager Steve Cotterill following a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest that kept the side in the relegation zone.

There had been intense speculation surrounding the former Forest boss heading into the game, with many reports suggesting it would be his last game in charge - and they were right.

The club confirmed Cotterill's departure last night, along with five members of the coaching staff and director of football Jeff Vetere.

The decision comes on the back of a five-game losing streak that included defeats at local rivals Aston Villa and lowly Barnsley at home.

Whilst fans had already turned against Cotterill, the loss against the Tykes saw one supporter run on the pitch to throw his season ticket at the boss and other objects were thrown at him as he left the field to plenty of abuse.

Garry Monk is widely expected to be appointed as the new boss ahead of Tuesday's game against his former club Middlesbrough, with Blues in desperate need of the points as they are two points adrift of safety.

The Verdict

This isn't really surprising given how badly things have gone at Birmingham, especially in the last few weeks.

Relegation is a real possibility and the board have obviously thought that acting now will give the new manager a realistic chance of keeping the side up.

Cotterill can have few complaints with the decision, he alienated the fans with his comments and the results were nowhere near good enough.

Thoughts, Birmingham fans? Let us know in the comments below.

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