Mark Warburton has dismissed links to the Birmingham City job as "paper speculation" but reiterated that will he "wait and see" if an offer to return to management materialises in the coming weeks, having left Championship rivals QPR at the end of the 2021/22 season. 

Despite taking the R's from a bottom-half club to play-off contenders, Warburton's contract at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium was not extended meaning he is now out of a job.

Football Insider reported yesterday that the 56-year-old was in preliminary talks to become Birmingham's next manager with Lee Bowyer's future thought to be under threat.

Speaking to Sky Sports News (via BirminghamLive), Warburton responded to the links – labelling them as speculation but reiterating that he would be keen to return to management soon.

He said: "It's nice to be linked with jobs, but the fact is there are people in situ

"I would never ever talk about that, far from it, it is paper speculation.

"All you can do is wait and see what happens in the coming weeks. I am very keen."

Warburton added: "I think many people talk about taking time out - you have to be very careful doing that now.

"There are a lot of very good people in football not working and looking to work, so I think you have to be very conscious of that fact. You have to wait for the right opportunity if doors open and hopefully, they do.

"If a door does open, is it the right one for you? You have to make sure you choose wisely. So we will see what happens in the coming few weeks."

Reports have suggested that a takeover could be close at Birmingham while it is said that the prospective new owners have identified Warburton as a leading contender to take charge at St Andrew's as Bowyer is set to be sacked.

The Verdict

Warburton is a respectful manager and with Bowyer still in the job was never going to overtly discuss the Birmingham situation.

He's been open since the news of his R's departure emerged that he'd be keen to get straight back into management but only for the right job.

Whether he would consider taking charge of Blues that remains to be seen but you feel it would interest him more should a takeover be completed.

You only have to look at the job he did in W12 – improving league position year on year on a small budget and transforming the R's into a club with realistic play-off ambitions – to see that he could be just what Birmingham need to get back to where they want to be.