Sam Allardyce issues subtle dig at Blackburn Rovers owners the Venky's | OneFootball

Former Rovers boss Allardyce has pleaded with the hierarchy to give Michael O'Neill the tools he needs to be a success at Ewood Park

Michael O'Neill's start to life as Blackburn Rovers manager got off to a perfect start in the first week of matches, but he has soon found out that the job may be tougher than he first realised.

The Northern Ireland international boss agreed to a unique job-share role in February until the end of the 2025-26 season, taking on not only responsibility at Ewood Park, but also having to focus on the Green and White Army's upcoming FIFA World Cup play-off qualifying clash with Italy later this month.

With wins over QPR and Preston North End to kick-start his reign in Lancashire, O'Neill began his job at Blackburn in the best possible way, but given the struggles on the pitch that Rovers have faced throughout the season, it was unlikely to last for long.

Back-to-back defeats over Bristol City and Derby County have left Blackburn just four points above the Championship relegation zone, which has led to O'Neill claiming that the club's squad depth is not strong enough - the problems are not lost on him as a massive 11 games are on the horizon.

Sam Allardyce drops Venky's dig amid Michael O'Neill job chat

It remains to be seen how the next few weeks will go for O'Neill and Blackburn, but one man who believes that the 56-year-old wants to be at Rovers on a long-term basis is Sam Allardyce.

The ex-England international manager is no stranger to life at Ewood Park of course, having managed Blackburn between 2008 and 2010, and still keeping a keen interest in goings on at his former club, he thinks that no matter what happens with Northern Ireland in their clash with Italy, O'Neill will like to be there for the long haul.

But he seemingly also managed to drop in a dig at the club's owners the Venky's in there too in regards to letting O'Neill do the job and giving him what he needs.

The Indian poultry giants sacked Allardyce in December 2010 when 13th in the Premier League, and he was replaced by first-team coach Steve Kean in what was a controversial move involving agent Jerome Anderson.

"I think he's such an experienced manager at international and league level. The two wins will stop everybody questioning whether it's the right decision because he's also Northern Ireland manager going into the play-offs," Allardyce told the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, via the Newsletter - albeit this was before Rovers lost their previous two matches.

"What he's doing is he's setting himself up for the job permanently.

"After the World Cup, he may well say 'Blackburn is there for me, I would love to get back in the league and put myself in that position'.

"Blackburn Rovers have always done ok in the Championship but faded away, so can he look at that situation and say he can turn that around with whatever budget he has and using his knowledge and experience?

"I hope there's not too much interference in terms of what he wants and needs to get Blackburn back in the Premier League."

Michael O'Neill's recent Blackburn Rovers frustrations could be a telling sign

It was reported by Alan Nixon following his first two wins as Blackburn boss that a three-year contract was being lined up for O'Neill once his Northern Ireland duties are done, so that he could take on the role at Ewood Park on a full-time basis.

Things looked rosy for O'Neill in the first week or so in the job, but cracks have begun to form once more after two losses on the spin, and losing star midfielder Sondre Tronstad to a knee injury is going to be tough to deal with for however long he will remain out for.

Losing to former Rovers manager John Eustace - who jumped ship a year ago to Derby as their ambitions were greater despite their league position at the time - last weekend will have also been a brutal one for the Blackburn hierarchy to take, and so would O'Neill's post-match comments about the squad depth, which they could take as potentially disrespectful.

There's still plenty of Championship points to play for, but with the honeymoon period officially over for O'Neill, only time will tell as to whether he's going to be at Rovers for the long-term or only the short - history would tell us though that the Venky's may not go overboard in terms of backing O'Neill in the summer transfer window, should he decide he wants to stay around for a longer period.