Forget 'no-fear football Rooney...what you need more is winning football

WAYNE ROONEY'S return to English football with Birmingham City is an ambitious move - but to play the 'no-fear' football the owners demand, he will need no-fear players.

And in a dog-eat-dog league like the Championship, you can't always deliver pretty football like going to a restaurant and ordering the most expensive dish on a menu.

Rooney is joining a club in a good position, which is down to his predecessor as manager, John Eustace, who was very harshly treated.

Eustace did not deserve to be cast aside with the Blues in the top six, after leading them to 17th last season when he had virtually no money to spend and achieved safety by surfing the loan market wisely.

For Rooney, the bottom line is not going to be pretty football - it's winning football.

He has to finish higher than sixth, where he came in, and he knows he will be expected to deliver promotion.