However, when Jozef Vengloš became Villa manager at the start of the 1990–91, Birch found himself out of the team and was sold to second flight team Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 1991 for £400,000 where he joined up with former manager Graham Turner (who had been at Villa Park from 1984 to 1986).
However, when Jozef Vengloš assumed the Villa manager position at the start of the 1990–91 season, Birch was subsequently dropped from the team and sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 1991 for £400,000. He then joined forces with Graham Turner, who had managed Villa from 1984 to 1986.