"Unacceptable" - Pundit blasts Blackburn Rovers' handling of Duncan McGuire saga | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers have had a torrid time of late, and the situation regarding Duncan McGuire has only exacerbated the club's problems at the moment.

On the pitch, Rovers have only won once since the start of December in the Championship. This form has left them looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone, as they are just five points clear, having looked like play-off pushers not that long ago.

Away from the field, manager Jon Dahl Tomasson is under pressure, and he was unusually stopped from taking pre-match press duties ahead of their match against Queens Park Rangers last weekend.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, this was purely just to allow the new signings to speak to the press instead, but it has since been revealed that the club did not wish for him to speak to the media surrounding the situation with McGuire.

McGuire is a striker who plays for Orlando City in the MLS, and had gained strong interest in his services from Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday during the January window. With McGuire flying over to the UK, an initial loan was finalised between Blackburn and Orlando, with the player set to spend the rest of the campaign at Ewood Park.

McGuire eventually looked to be heading to Blackburn on a loan deal with an option to buy in the summer, and the signing was announced late on Deadline Day. Rumours then came about that the deal had actually not gone through due to Rovers not submitting the paperwork needed.

A report then came out from The Athletic following Rovers’ statement, which claimed that the club had thought they had clicked the ‘submit paperwork’ button before the deadline, when they had actually pressed the ‘save’ button instead. By the time they realised their mistake, the transfer deadline had passed.

Following plenty of speculation, it always seemed unlikely that their appeal would succeed, and the club announced on their official site on Thursday evening that McGuire would not be joining after the appeal was rejected.

Carlton Palmer's Duncan McGuire verdict

Ex-England international Carlton Palmer believes that accountability is needed, with this happening on more than one occasion for Rovers in the last couple of seasons.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, he said: "You can understand the head coach's frustration, Jon Dahl Tomasson of Blackburn Rovers, with the collapse of the transfer deadline day signing of Duncan McGuire, due to simply not submitting documents before the deadline.

"He was silenced [by the club's hierarchy] on the weekend and was not allowed to speak about this particular incident by the football club.

"This is now the third transfer within a year that has fallen through due to administrative blunders. "Surely someone at the club has to be held accountable? This latest blunder has also left McGuire in limbo, as he's flown over to the UK and had to wait for the appeal to be decided on. "They've previously failed in moves for Lewis O'Brien and Ethan Brierley where paperwork was not handed in before the allotted deadline.

"Whoever has been responsible, in all seriousness, should be out of work. It's just unacceptable in this day and age with all the modern technology."

Blackburn needed a striker in January and only allowed Niall Ennis to depart due to thinking McGuire would be an incoming replacement.

As it is, they have weakened their pool of options, including hardly using any of the funds from the sale of Adam Wharton as well.

It could leave them short and they are perilously close to the relegation zone. It will be some task for whoever is in charge, with it rumoured Tomasson will be replaced by John Eustace imminently.