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Pep Clotet will leave his position as Birmingham City head coach at the end of the season.

The Spaniard, 43, has been allowed to leave the Championship club to "explore other coaching opportunities".

Clotet had been assisting previous boss Garry Monk before succeeding him as head coach, initially on an interim basis, in June 2019.

Blues are 16th in the Championship table, with the season expected to resume on 20 June.

Clotet said: "It's been a really difficult decision to take because it's a privilege to be part of the Blues family, but it's the best step for everyone and it allows the club to continue to move forward with their vision and strategy."

Chief executive Dong Ren said: "Pep will depart with our very best wishes.

"In the meantime, Pep continues to have our full backing and we are all determined to do everything we can to finish the season strongly and give him the fitting send-off he deserves."

Blues are eight points clear of the relegation zone with nine matches still to play.

Clotet's exit later this summer will leave Birmingham looking for a sixth manager in just three and a half years.

Since Gary Rowett was sacked in December 2016, Gianfranco Zola (four months), Harry Redknapp (five months), Steve Cotterill (five months), Monk (15 months) and Clotet (12 months) have all had spells in charge of Blues.

Analysis
Richard Wilford, BBC WM's Birmingham City reporter

Clotet had never expected to find himself as the head coach at St Andrew's, and only anticipated being a temporary fix when Monk departed.

Not entirely comfortable with the spotlight, Clotet sought to engineer the change in style desired by the owners without necessarily having the full set of resources required.

At times, this led to compromise in order to put points on the board. He showed commitment to younger players, most notably creating the perfect platform for the gifted Jude Bellingham to learn and thrive.

At the time that football was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Blues were closer to their target of better football. The acquisition of a second striker, Scott Hogan, to support the ever-willing Lukas Jutkiewicz gave the team considerably more balance.

But the virus may also have made up Pep's mind to move on. He returned to Spain to spend time with his young family during the crisis. It would be no surprise if he chose to continue his coaching career nearer home.

The assistant who became the boss
Clotet was Monk's assistant at Swansea and Leeds, but when Monk moved to Middlesbrough in 2017, this time it was without Clotet, who had a brief spell as Oxford manager.

The pair were reunited again at St Andrew's in March 2018, however, when Monk was sacked by Blues last summer, this time they parted on bad terms.

Before his new club Sheffield Wednesday played Blues in November, Monk said he had made an "error of judgement" in working with Clotet.

After six months as an interim appointment, Clotet's role with Blues was rubber-stamped on a more permanent basis in December, and the pair shook hands before a February meeting between the two clubs at St Andrew's in February.

Blues spent part of the 2019-20 season under an English Football League investigation on a financial misconduct charge, but that was dismissed in March, subject to an EFL appeal against the independent disciplinary commission's decision.

They were deducted nine points in the 2018-19 season for breaching the EFL's profitability and sustainability rules. And, like his predecessor Monk, Clotet has had to perform his job under the same backdrop of concern over what might happen.

Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet has left the club after Wednesday's 3-1 defeat by Swansea City.

The Spaniard, 43, was set to leave the Championship side at the end of the season but said it was "mutually agreed" he would step down immediately.

Birmingham have not won in 10 league matches and are 17th in the table.

Clotet was assistant to former boss Garry Monk before succeeding him as head coach, initially on an interim basis, in June 2019.

He had previously worked under Monk at Swansea and Leeds, before a brief spell as Oxford manager, but when Monk was sacked by Blues last summer, they parted on bad terms.

Before his new club Sheffield Wednesday played Birmingham in November, Monk said he had made an "error of judgement" in working with Clotet.

But the pair shook hands before a meeting between the two clubs at St Andrew's in February.

Birmingham were deducted nine points in the 2018-19 season for breaching the English Football League's profitability and sustainability rules.

And they spent part of this season under another EFL investigation into a financial misconduct charge, but that was dismissed in March, only for the independent disciplinary commission's decision to be overturned on appeal last month.

Despite the appeal decision, the club were not docked any points on this occasion.

Birmingham have picked up just two points out of a possible 15 since the Championship restarted after lockdown and are now just four points above the relegation zone.

Their next match is away to fellow strugglers Stoke on Sunday.

'Players must take responsibility' - Jutkiewicz
Speaking moments before Clotet's departure was confirmed, Birmingham City striker Lukas Jutkiewicz admitted players needed to show a "collective responsibility".

"Every club is looking for stability whether that comes from success on the pitch or you build that stability first and then the success comes after," the 31-year-old told BBC Radio WM.

"That's the secret ingredient for every club."

He also denied previous confirmation Clotet would leave at the end of this season had affected players' motivation.

"It's not for me to make those sorts of decisions," he said. "It's the club's call and it's wasted energy for us as players to look for excuses.

"It's up to ourselves to make sure we're doing the best we can to look after this club.

"Whatever's going on outside, we need to make sure we're winning football matches. All the noise outside is not for us."

Pep Clotet's departure a fortnight ahead of schedule seemed inevitable after another forgettable night at St Andrew's. Birmingham conceded three goals for the fifth successive home game as the correct balance between attack and defence proved increasingly elusive. A relegation battle seized from mid-table security.


While it is easy to draw the conclusion that Clotet became a lame duck upon the announcement, as football resumed, that he was stepping down at the end of the season, this is maybe over-simplistic.

Senior players at the club have seen so much change in recent seasons, leaving them adjusting to new systems, plans and voices all too often. Mentally they may just be frazzled.

The hunt for a new head coach started in earnest last month. The board are believed to favour an experienced candidate. It is a decision they cannot afford to get wrong if they are to steer clear of further turmoil and confusion.