Redknapp sacked by Birmingham after 13 matches

Birmingham City has sacked its manager Harry Redknapp in just his 13th game in charge, after it slipped to a 3-1 loss against Preston North End on Saturday.

The 70-year-old Redknapp, whose coaching career has included Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, was briefly hailed as a saviour after he kept Birmingham in the division last term having taken over following a disastrous spell in charge by Italian Gianfranco Zola.

Veteran manager Harry Redknapp was sacked by second-tier Birmingham City on Saturday after a 3-1 home defeat by Preston North End, just his 13th game in charge.

The 70-year-old, whose coaching career has included Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, was briefly hailed as a saviour after he kept Birmingham in the division last term having taken over following a disastrous spell in charge by Italian Gianfranco Zola.

However, despite an influx of players in the close season, Birmingham suffered a sixth successive defeat and has just four points from eight league matches.

"I am disappointed. It's been difficult, I have had one week with a new team and new players, one week," Redknapp told the Birmingham Mail. "It's not an excuse but today I had three of the forwards missing who I would have picked, probably the three most exciting players in all honesty.

"It takes time to build a football team, not one week. I didn't get the players in I was after in pre-season and suddenly I have got a load of players in.

"A lot of the targets I was after I couldn't get over the line. I still felt that given time I would have given them a team that would have been challenging for promotion, I had no doubt about that.