Who AI thinks Blackburn Rovers should appoint to replace Valerien Ismael | OneFootball

AI has outlined who Blackburn Rovers should replace Valerien Ismael in the Ewood Park dugout.

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

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

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

A big three points propelled Blackburn out of the bottom three at the expense of West Brom, and Rovers should hold plenty of confidence when they make the trip to Carrow Road to take on an in-form Norwich City this weekend.

If Blackburn do decide to bring in another permanent boss this season, it could be a defining moment for the club, with the quality of the coach essential to the Lancashire outfit retaining their second-tier status.

With this in mind, FLW has asked AI who its choice would be for the Blackburn role to replace Ismael.

AI picks David Wagner to be new Blackburn Rovers boss

When asking AI, it suggested that former Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner should be Blackburn’s priority target for the Ewood Park hotseat.

Ex-Rovers boss Tony Mowbray was also well-favoured by AI for the Blackburn post, but with the Lancashire Telegraph rubbishing talk that the 62-year-old will return to manage the club, the German should be the prime candidate.

AI has listed a number of reasons as to why Wagner should be deeply considered by Blackburn for the role, and you can’t argue against them.

It has been said that Wagner has an excellent track record of getting teams organised at the back and competitive, which is exactly what the club needs at the moment, while he has had the experience of being in the rough and tumble of the Championship at Huddersfield and Norwich, able to cope with the demands and pressures of relentless second-tier matches.

AI also believes the 54-year-old should be the man for the job because he can implement a structure very quickly, while he can also adapt and tweak the system depending on the players he has at his disposal, in order to generate positive results as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Wagner’s calm and experienced head would be vital in the midst of fan unrest and such high stakes to play for, with his experienced nature so important to helping drag the club out of the position they find themselves in.

If Blackburn Rovers were to lure David Wagner to Ewood Park, they would be in an excellent position to secure Championship survival, but it appears it will take some convincing for the German to return to the second-tier.

A report by journalist Alan Nixon has revealed that Wagner, at this stage, is not keen on making a move to be the new Rovers boss, which will be a big blow for the club to take when they need to secure a new permanent coach quickly.

The reasons behind Wagner's stance remain unclear, so Blackburn will have to do an awful lot of convincing to change his mind.

It could be worth the hassle though, given his experience and success in the Championship at Huddersfield, and there would be a hope that he could transition that success to Ewood Park if he made a U-turn.

The German was able to defy the odds during his time with Huddersfield, initially securing survival in the Championship with the Terriers before unexpectedly leading them to promotion into the Premier League through the play-offs.

While he failed to get Norwich City back to the big time, he did guide them to the play-offs, while his past achievement of taking the underdogs in Huddersfield all the way to the top-flight can’t be disputed, and it's something the club needs again after dropping into the relegation mire after their seventh-placed finish last term.

It will be intriguing to see how Blackburn’s managerial search develops, but Wagner should definitely be at the top of the shortlist to help turn their fortunes around.