Birmingham City appoint Harry Redknapp as manager

Harry Redknapp has been appointed as the new manager of Birmingham following the resignation of Gianfranco Zola.

The 70-year-old former Tottenham and QPR boss takes over with Blues three points above the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.

His first game in charge of the club, who announced his arrival on their Twitter account, will be at city rivals Aston Villa on Sunday.

His appointment follows almost a year out of English football. Redknapp last worked in English football with Derby, where he worked as a football advisor alongside then-head coach Darren Wassall.

He was also with the Jordan national team for a two-game spell, but has since been out of management.

Redknapp's priority from Birmingham's final three fixtures of the 2016/17 season will be to preserve their Championship status. Monday's 2-0 home defeat by Burton left them 20th, and only three points above the drop zone.

In his last spell in the Championship, he led QPR to promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, having also previously inspired Portsmouth to promotion.

A season that began promisingly under new Derby manager Gary Rowett, who took Birmingham into contention for promotion, turned into one of significant struggle when Rowett was succeeded by Zola.