Birmingham have handed Harry Redknapp the vacant manager's position following Gianfranco Zola's departure.
Zola only resigned as Birmingham boss on Monday evening after his side's 2-0 home defeat to Burton Albion, and the club have immediately turned to Redknapp in the hope of staying in the Championship.
Birmingham are just three points from the relegation zone following a nine game winless run with relegation a real concern for the Blues board. Redknapp was as short as 4/5 with the bookies moments before his appointment as manager till the end of the season with his first game in charge being against rivals Aston Villa on 23rd April.
Speaking to TalkSport, Redknapp confirmed he had three games to save Birmingham from the drop and admitted the decision was not money motivated. He said: “I drove to London, had a meeting for 15 minutes and said ‘Sure I will come and do it -no problem.
“I went in there and said I don’t want anything but I’ll come and do it. I wasn’t interested in the money. I would have got fed up sitting around and doing nothing.
“I am going to live up there until the end of the season. If they don’t stay up I won’t stay," added Redknapp.
Redknapp last managed an English side when he was in charge of QPR in 2015, and after being rumoured for various vacant roles since, has opted to take the reins at St Andrew's tasked with survival. The 70-year-old kept Portsmouth in the Premier League in the 2003/2004 season but failed to do the same when he switched alligiances to Southampton the following season.
More recently, Redknapp was briefly in charge of Jordan for two World Cup qualifiers last year and was also working as an advisor to Derby County last season.
