Bruce's exit to Wigan is good for us, says Birmingham co-owner Sullivan

The club's co-owner used the collapse of Carson Yeung's takeover bid to launch an outspoken defence of the club's handling of the departure of their former manager.

Sullivan claimed that not only was Bruce's defection 'incredibly good business' he also maintained that his replacement, Alex McLeish, is a far better manager.

'Steve leaving was the best thing that happened to Birmingham City,' he said. 'We needed a change. We'd had six years of each other.

'We would never have sacked him because we're loyal to our managers. But before he left we'd lost seven of the previous eight games.

'Two more and the fans would have been screaming "Sack the manager".

'Well, we got rid of him and picked up £3million — which was incredibly good business for the club.

'Instead, we now have a far better manager who's had 10 years' experience at top level, including international level.'

Sullivan is at a loss to explain why Yeung made a £15m investment last June for a 29.9 per cent stake in the club when he was not prepared to see it through.

He said: 'Carson Yeung came to us with a vision in the summer. We saw accounts with over £100m, so we know he was wealthy. He checked out.

'Had he said to us from the outset: "I'm going to float a company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange" to get the rest of the money, we wouldn't have gone through with this.

'I still don't know what his exact motives are or why he was so determined to go down that route.'