Wayne Rooney has hit back at criticism of his work ethic from Birmingham City's minority owner Tom Brady, suggesting the NFL great does not understand football.

Brady purchased a minority stake – reported to be 3.3% – in Birmingham in 2023 as US firm Knighthead Capital Management completed a takeover of the club.

Their first season at the helm ended in relegation from the Championship, with Rooney enduring an ill-fated three-month spell in the dugout midway through the campaign.

Having taken over when Birmingham were in the play-off places following the surprise dismissal of John Eustace, Rooney left with the Blues 20th in the table 83 days later.

Rooney registered a win rate of just 13% from his 15 games at the helm (two wins, four draws), with Gianfranco Zola (9%, 2/22) the only permanent Birmingham manager to fare worse in the club's Championship history. 

Birmingham bounced back at the first attempt last season, winning League One with a Football League record of 111 points, but the recent release of an Amazon documentary, Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues, has brought Rooney's tenure back into focus.

In the documentary, Brady is shown meeting Rooney at the club's training ground, later remarking that he was unimpressed with the "work ethic" of the Manchester United icon.

Speaking on his new BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, the former striker said that comment was unfair. 

"I think Tom came in once, which was the day before a game where the days are a little bit lighter anyway, and I don't think he really understood football that well," Rooney said.

"But what he does understand is... he's a hard worker, we know that.

"Football is not the NFL; the NFL works for three months a year. Players do need rest as well, so I think he's been very unfair, the way he's come out and portrayed that."

Brady, whose seven Super Bowl victories are more than any single NFL team has won (six with the New England Patriots, one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), is seen giving Birmingham's players a pre-match team talk in another scene.

The Blues are among the favourites to win promotion to the Premier League this season, having started their league campaign with a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town before beating Sheffield United 2-1 in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, despite Gustavo Hamer scoring against them from the halfway line in the latter game.

Rooney does not harbour any ill will towards Brady, adding: "Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively. He's one of the greatest, if not the greatest athlete of all time. 

"Birmingham do look like they're getting it right now, which is good, and I think what they have done is got the players out that they needed to get out."

Birmingham visit Blackburn Rovers for their second match of the Championship season on Saturday, while they will host Port Vale in the second round of the EFL Cup.