Former Birmingham City coach becomes new manager of promotion rivals
Birmingham City's nearest promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers have announced that Mike Dodds will be their new manager from next week. Dodds, who leaves Sunderland in order to take up the role at Adams Park, spent 12 years in the Blues academy before leaving for the Stadium of Light in 2021.
Dodds rose through the ranks at Wast Hills during his time at Blues, eventually becoming the academy manager and overseeing the development of the club's best known talent, including the likes of Nathan Redmond, Demarai Gray and Jude Bellingham. While at Sunderland, he took up the role of interim manager on a number of occasions.
Across those spells - Dodds filled in after the sackings of Lee Johnson, Tony Mowbray and Michael Beale - won four of his 18 matches in charge. He will now branch out into a fully fledged manager for the first time in making the move to the Chairboys, who lost predecessor Matt Bloomfield to Luton Town last month.
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Dodds, who will work with Blues academy product Beryly Lubala and Caleb Taylor, who is the son of former Blues centre half Martin, has signed a contract with Wycombe until 2028 and takes up the reins with the club just behind his former employers Blues in the League One table.
They dropped two points late on at Garry Monk's Cambridge on Saturday, however, and as a result of Blues easing past Rotherham United, the gap between first and second is now four, while Blues have two games in hand on the chasing pack. Wrexham, in third, posted a stoppage time winner at Crawley Town on Saturday.
