Blackburn Rovers backed to strike immediate deal with ex-Millwall boss | OneFootball

FLW’s Blackburn Rovers fan pundit has commented on the club eyeing up a move for Gary Rowett as their new boss.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Blackburn Rovers are still on the hunt for Valerien Ismael’s successor after parting ways with the Frenchman last week.

Rovers sacked Ismael after a 1-0 defeat to Hull City which left the Lancashire outfit without a win in eight second-tier games and in desperate trouble of slipping through the League One trapdoor.

Blackburn’s decision to change manager originally looked to have been vindicated, with Rovers claiming a precious 1-0 victory over basement boys Sheffield Wednesday last midweek, under the caretaker charge of Damien Johnson.

But the club slipped back into the bottom three over the course of last weekend after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Norwich City at Carrow Road, while West Brom picked up a point against Stoke City.

Meanwhile, speculation has continued to ramp up over Blackburn’s search for a new boss, with former Millwall and Oxford United boss Gary Rowett instilled as the favourite for the post.

And as per a report by journalist Alan Nixon, Blackburn are expected to hold discussions with Rowett over the vacant managerial position at Ewood Park over the next 48 hours, as they look to try and bring this saga to an end.

With this in mind, FLW’s Blackburn Rovers fan pundit has issued his thoughts over whether he would welcome Rowett to replace Ismael.

Blackburn Rovers urged to seal Gary Rowett as their new boss

Speaking to Football League World, Blackburn Rovers fan pundit Simon Middlehurst has said that he would welcome Gary Rowett to Ewood Park to help transform their struggles, believing he has the pedigree and survival experience at Championship level to help them retain their second-tier status.

Simon told FLW: “I think it would be an ideal appointment. He’s definitely the preferred person amongst most Blackburn fans. He knows the league very well, he knows what it takes to survive as he’s shown with Oxford, and he’s definitely got the right level of experience that we’re after.

“I think for a short-term contract at least, to get us until the end of the season, I think it would be great, and I think definitely something we need to do is to get him in sooner rather than later as the more games go by, we’re losing ground, and we really need to get that sorted as soon as possible.”

Blackburn Rovers require a safe pair of hands like Gary Rowett

The next managerial appointment Blackburn make could well be a defining moment for the club, with the quality of the coach essential to the Lancashire outfit securing survival in the Championship.

To propel themselves out of the bottom three, Rovers need a safe pair of hands with an abundance of Championship experience as well as the ability to keep teams in the division, and Rowett certainly fits that mould.

Rowett consistently had Millwall in play-off contention in his three full seasons with the club, and although they never quite made it into the top six, he helped establish the Lions as a top-half second-tier side.

His record at Oxford will be called into question, and while he did leave the U’s League One-bound, he did keep the club up in their first season back in the Championship, which was an incredibly hard feat to achieve.

For the majority of his time in the second-tier, Rowett has managed to be a success, and there’s no reason why he can’t go into Blackburn and transform a group of players who are badly lacking in confidence and need a figure who they can battle and scrap for during the remainder of the campaign.

With their Championship status on the line, Blackburn need to utilise this opportunity of a manager like Rowett being available and do all they can to lure him to Ewood Park, as this type of appointment could mark a huge turning point in what has been a dreadful season so far.