Good 2-1 win against Leyton orient !

Birmingham City have named Republic of Ireland assistant manager John Eustace as head coach on a three-year contract.

Eustace, who began in management at Kidderminster Harriers, has spent the past three seasons as Queens Park Rangers assistant boss, first under Steve McClaren, then Mark Warburton.

The former Coventry City, Stoke City, Watford and Derby County midfielder, 42, retired from playing in 2016.

He succeeds Lee Bowyer, who was sacked on Saturday after 16 months in charge.

"I am very proud to be here," said locally-born Eustace. "Obviously, I am a Birmingham lad and I know the potential of the club and how important it is to the fans.

"We have underachieved in the past few seasons and a club of this size, with the support that this club has, need to be aiming higher.

"The first thing we have to do is get this squad competitive and ready for that first game of the season against Luton."

Eustace will now take charge of Blues' pre-season trip to Portugal in the next week.

He will have just under four weeks to prepare for the season opener with Luton Town at St Andrew's on 30 July.

Eustace is the ninth manager City's owners Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd have appointed since they took control of the club as Trillion Trophy Asia in October 2016.

"The appointment of John Eustace is merely the first of several pressing needs for Birmingham City with less than four weeks between now and their opening Championship game.

"They will hope to add to his coaching staff before the first-team squad head to a training camp in Portugal this week. Then there is the urgent matter of squad strengthening as Eustace inherits a group that is light on numbers, particularly at the defensive end of the field. They will likely head to the Algarve with no recognised senior left-back.

"And, above all, there is the continuing off-the-field drama with a partially closed stadium still awaiting the go-ahead for repairs to go ahead, and the uncertainty over the future ownership of the club.

"It may well be that the prospective new owners are firmly on board with the change from Lee Bowyer to Eustace ahead of the opening game at Luton. But until any deal to unseat Birmingham Sports Holdings is concluded it will hard for Blues supporters to gauge whether things are heading in the right direction at St Andrew's."

Derby County full-back Lee Buchanan is set to join German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.

The 21-year old will complete the deal when he has passed a medical.

Bremen posted on social media that they had "reached agreement in principle" with Derby and Buchanan attended a training camp in Zillertal on Sunday.

He came through the Derby youth system and made 31 appearances last season as they were relegated from the Championship under Wayne Rooney.

AFC Wimbledon defender Dan Csoka has joined Hungarian First Division side Zalaegerszegi for an undisclosed fee.

Csoka, 22, was still under contract at Plough Lane and had made 47 appearances since moving to the club two years ago from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free transfer after two seasons at Molineux.

The Dons say he was keen to return home to be closer to his family.

The former Hungary youth international's only goal came in a 5-2 loss at Charlton in December 2020.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett has signed a new contract with the Championship club.

The 48-year-old has led the Lions to eighth, 11th and ninth in the table since arriving in October 2019.

The London side were in contention for a Championship play-off place until the final day of last season when they lost 1-0 at promoted Bournemouth.

"We have had three consistent seasons but we want more," said Rowett after signing the contract.

"We have built in a really nice progressive way from the day I walked in. We've tried to improve what we do every season."

Rowett managed Burton, Birmingham, Derby and Stoke before replacing Neil Harris at The Den in 2019.

Millwall have not disclosed the length of Rowett's new deal.

Derby County have signed Tom Barkhuizen, Joe Wildsmith and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on two-year contracts, their first deals since the club-saving takeover by Clowes Developments.

Forward Barkhuizen, 28, played 208 times for Preston, scoring 38 goals, before his end-of-season exit.

Goalkeeper Wildsmith, 26, heads to Pride Park having left Sheffield Wednesday this summer after 88 games.

Former Owls team-mate Mendez-Laing, 30, adds a winger option to the Rams squad.

Defender Eiran Cashin and midfielder Liam Thompson, both 20, have also signed new two-year contracts.

The deals are all subject to English Football League approval.

Derby, who currently have Liam Rosenior as interim manager following Wayne Rooney's departure as boss late last month, are rebuilding their squad for a first campaign in the third tier since 1985-86 after being relegated from the Championship last season.

Only five first-team players were contracted to the club, before Saturday's announcements.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/...-in-charge

Odd timing, but off you trot.

So sad today to hear the news that Drew( the buzzbomb) Busby had passed away. In my eyes an absolute legend, gave his all for the jersey and continued to be a supporter of the club. Met him a couple of times and he was just a perfect gentleman, nothing like the hard man, tough tackling image he portrayed on the pitch. Such a humble man, he was quite astounded that fans of Hearts would hold him in such high esteem. Pat Stanton once stated that Busby was one of his toughest opponents. RIP Drew

Derby County's takeover by local property developer David Clowes has been completed, ending the League One club's nine months in administration.

The lifelong Rams fan, 53, already owns the club's Pride Park ground and had provided Derby with a loan to ensure it can start the upcoming season.

His purchase, through his company Clowes Developments, also means a transfer embargo can be lifted.

Clowes stepped in after a proposed takeover by Chris Kirchner collapsed.

Joint administrator Carl Jackson said: "We are very pleased to have achieved today's sale, in a deal which secures the long-term future of the club."

Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton has signed a three-year contract extension with the club until 2026.

The former Manchester City, Newcastle and QPR player guided Rovers to a dramatic final-day promotion with an extraordinary 7-0 win over Scunthorpe.

Barton, 39, was appointed in February 2021, but they were relegated to League Two at the end of that campaign.

The Pirates won 23 games as they were promoted back to League One at the first time of asking last season.

"I am delighted to sign a new deal at Bristol Rovers," said Barton, who previously managed Fleetwood Town from 2018 to 2021.

"The journey we have been on and the support I have received from the owner Wael Al-Qadi, the CEO Tom Gorringe and the relationship we've built with the Gasheads, these are all massive factors in me signing on for another four years."

Going into the last day of the season, Rovers needed to better the result of third-placed Northampton or win by five goals more than their rivals.

Northampton won 3-1, but the Pirates secured the final automatic promotion spot on goals scored, returning to League One with Exeter City and champions Forest Green Rovers.