And King has now stressed that Rhys Carr, one of the club’s first-team coaches, will remain as caretaker boss, when they return to action following the international break with a lunchtime home game against Sheffield United on 23 November.

When questioned as to why he had not already gone the perceived modern-day football way, of having a replacement lined up, he said simply: “That’s not the way I work.

“I’ve always tried to be transparent about what’s going on. We have had a lot of applications. We have a recruitment process in place.

“The next appointment is very important. I cannot have the risk of us getting relegated. Nobody thought Birmingham would get relegated – and they did.

“You can argue that this was a big mistake. But I had to do something.

“Sometimes a tough decision has to be made. I like Mark Robins. And we’ve had good times together – but it had to be made.”