Exclusive: Don Goodman reacts to "unfair" Blackburn Rovers, Valerien Ismael trend | OneFootball

Don Goodman believes that it is unfair to judge Valerien Ismael at the moment.

Blackburn Rovers have struggled for form since the appointment of Valerien Ismael as head coach.

Ismael was brought in to replace John Eustace, who left Ewood Park to take the Derby County hot seat last month, despite the fact the Rams were languishing inside the Championship relegation zone and Rovers were in the midst of a promotion push.

The new Blackburn boss is yet to pick up his first win, as things stand ahead of their home game against Cardiff City this weekend, which has resulted in the club slipping to ninth in the table and left their promotion prospects looking far less likely than they did a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Eustace has rejuvenated Derby in recent weeks and led them to back-to-back victories, with the first having come against his former club Blackburn at Pride Park last week. The Rams now find themselves just one point adrift of safety, and Rovers could do them a big favour if they beat Cardiff on Saturday.

If Blackburn can find some form as soon as possible, then they will still have some hope of reaching the play-offs, but if recent results are anything to go by, it seems as though Eustace will be happier than Ismael come the end of the season.

Don Goodman calls for patience at Blackburn

Sky Sports pundit, Don Goodman, spoke exclusively to Football League World about Ismael's start at Blackburn, and he believes that it is too early to judge the Frenchman.

Ismael has already been receiving criticism from supporters and appears to be under initial pressure, though wider tensions around Ewood Park have been heightened in recent times due to the nature of Eustace's exit and long-standing concern pertaining to the way the club is run by controversial owners, the Venky's.

"I think the biggest concern for Blackburn Rovers was obviously losing John Eustace," Goodman said.

"They were doing so well, but I do not think that the two sides were aligned. John Eustace and the hierarchy at Blackburn Rovers were not aligned on how they were going to go about getting success and seeing the job through.

"Once John Eustace left, somebody had to come in. Valerien Ismael - I do not think it is fair to judge him after three games.

"I can understand the disappointment with one point in three games, and against teams that had not really been in great form in terms of drawing with Norwich City, losing to Derby County and losing to Stoke City, who had barely won a game between them since Christmas.

"That is the disappointment. Is it Valerien Ismael's fault? Probably not. Let's wait and see before you judge him."

Valerien Ismael has Championship play-offs experience

Ismael has experience of guiding a team to the play-offs in the Championship against the odds, having done so with Barnsley during the 2020/21 season.

West Bromwich Albion were also well in contention to achieve a top-six finish under Ismael during the 2021/22 campaign, before he was sacked amid concerns over his style of football and relationships with some of his players breaking down.

Goodman may be right in his assessment that it is unfair to judge him at the moment, as he has shown in the past that he is capable of reaching the play-offs, although Blackburn would have been hopeful that he could lead them to a top-six finish this term at the time of his appointment.

The 49-year-old is contracted until the summer of 2028, so in theory he has plenty of time to implement his ideas at Ewood Park, but he will no doubt be hoping to see an upturn in form as soon as possible.