Lee Bowyer resigns as Charlton boss amid Birmingham links

Aitor Karanka’s future as Blues manager looks increasingly in doubt

Lee Bowyer has left his role as manager at Charlton (Getty Images)

Lee Bowyer has stepped down as Charlton coach amid links to another of his former clubs, Birmingham.

Birmingham’s poor form in the Championship has led to much speculation around the future of the club’s head coach, Aitor Karanka.

And on Monday, Charlton announced that Bowyer had resigned from his role with the Addicks.

Bowyer left The Valley with the best wishes of Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard, and said it had been a difficult decision to leave the club where he began both his playing and managerial careers.

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“Everyone knows how I feel about the club,” he said in a statement. “I could have gone before but I felt it was the right thing to do to stay and help the club through the tough times we’ve been through.

“We had some amazing times and some tough times. It has been emotional leaving. I’d like to thank all the players that I’ve worked with and the staff for the hours and hours of hard work that they did. I also want to thank the supporters. We wouldn’t have had those great memories without them.

“The club is now in a place with a good owner that cares and wants to improve the place and I hope the club can continue to grow. It will always hold a special place in my heart.”

In his three years in charge at Charlton, Bowyer has twice guided the Addicks to the League One play-offs, losing to Shrewsbury before earning promotion 12 months later in the final against Sunderland.

Though they suffered relegation last season, going down one point shy of safety, Bowyer kept his job and Charlton go into Tuesday’s match against Bristol Rovers eighth in the League One table, two points off the play-off places.

Former midfielder Bowyer was loaned to Birmingham as a West Ham player in 2009 before joining the Blues permanently and spending two years at the club.

PA