 His next first-team appearance was at Blackburn Rovers on 21 October when he was recalled to the squad by the caretaker managers the day after Clark was sacked; he came on in the 80th minute and came close to scoring an equaliser when his shot from struck the underside of the crossbar but failed to cross the line.Incoming manager Gary Rowett used Shinnie as the creative player in his preferred 4–2–3–1 formation, and he thrived in the role.By December, the "Birmingham Mail" reporter thought he was "enjoying the finest spell of his Birmingham career", and a goal in a 6–1 defeat of Reading was a deserved reward for what Rowett called "fantastic" work-rate and build-up play.