BIRMINGHAM are reportedly set to appoint Gary Rowett as short-term interim boss in the hope he can help save the Championship strugglers from the drop in the absence of boss Tony Mowbray.

Mowbray joined Birmingham in January, just a couple of weeks after his Sunderland exit, and enjoyed a bright start in the dugout at St Andrew's, getting Blues back on track after the Wayne Rooney appointment had backfired.

But Mowbray was forced to take a break last month due to illness. Assistant Mark Venus and first team coach Ashley Cole have led team in Mowbray's absence but Birmingham have struggled, are winless in six and are now just a point above the drop.

Venus said last week that Mowbray is "getting stronger" and Birmingham hoped to have their manager back before the end of the season. But with a date for his return unknown at this stage and with Blues woefully out of form in the absence of their boss, club chiefs have now made a move for Rowett.

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Rowett previously had a successful stint in charge of Birmingham and has been out of work since leaving Millwall earlier this season. According to the Telegraph, he'll join on a short-term basis as interim head coach/consultant.

After Middlesbrough's win at Birmingham last week, Venus provided an update on Mowbray.

He said: "He's making good progress and we can't get him back quick enough.

"He's making good progress and hopefully he'll be back in the future. There's no timeframe.

"I'm not sure how to describe it but we've missed him immensely, enormously. He is a leader and a motivator and a driver. I think undoubtedly when you have someone like that at the front, you miss him. I'm giving it my best shot."