Blackburn Rovers backed to seal 'very good' Dave Challinor deal | OneFootball

FLW's Blackburn fan pundit shares their thoughts on the club's links to Dave Challinor

Blackburn Rovers will be playing Championship football once again next season, but have some crucial decisions to make before the next campaign can begin, with whom will be taking the helm in the Ewood Park dugout yet to be decided.

A stressful year for Blackburn fans ultimately ended in relief, with the Lancashire-based outfit confirming their survival with a game to spare after a hotly contested relegation battle.

Valerien Ismael's time in charge ended under a cloud, and current Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill stepped in to keep the club afloat, which he managed to do, with five wins, five draws, and five defeats during his brief spell in charge.

He would turn down a proposed three-year deal to stick around with Blackburn in favour of focusing on the national team, leaving the club scrambling for a manager once again.

As Rovers continue their quest for O'Neill's successor, they may well now look to take advantage of the situation evolving at Stockport County following the Hatters' missing out on promotion.

Blackburn Rovers have been linked with a move for Stockport County's Dave Challinor

Since joining Stockport as head coach in November 2021, the Hatters have been on a constant upward trajectory ever since.

He would win the National League title in his first year in charge, before a 4th-placed finish in League Two, followed by being crowned fourth-tier champions in 2024.

Challinor has since guided Stockport to back-to-back 3rd-place finishes in League One, missing out on promotion in the play-off final to Bolton Wanderers recently, and is now expected to leave the club, with Blackburn interested in bringing him to Lancashire.

Football League World's Blackburn fan pundit, Simon Middlehurst, has shared their thoughts on the links to Challinor following his exit from Stockport.

When asked whether Challinor is someone that he would like to see take charge at Ewood Park, Simon said: "Yeah, I think it would be a really, really good appointment to make.

"Every club that he's been involved in, there's been promotion or playoffs somewhere. He's also someone who's worked his way up through the leagues as well, so he's got a really good understanding of how the Football League works, and I think his experience speaks for itself.

"I think if it is someone we're going to bring in, we need to work to get him in as soon as possible. And, for once, I think it would be a really, really good appointment to make from the club if they were able to get it over the line and get him in the club for next season."

Challinor's contract at Edgeley Park is due to expire at the end of the month, and there is growing anticipation that his time in Greater Manchester is coming to an end.

In his 16 seasons as a manager, spending time with each of Colwyn Bay, AFC Fylde, Hartlepool United, and Stockport, Challinor has finished in the promotion or play-off places in 15 of those 16 seasons, whilst earning seven promotions - a truly remarkable feat.

He will almost certainly be a wanted man this summer, and Blackburn must move fast to secure his services if his time with Stockport does indeed come to an end.

Blackburn Rovers must ensure their next appointment is the correct one amid Dave Challinor's links

Blackburn are in a slightly tricky position, in that one wrong managerial call could be catastrophic for the club.

Having only scraped survival courtesy of the brilliance of O'Neill, the club simply cannot afford to find themselves in a similar posidivisionxt year.

Challinor has demonstrated his ability to guide a team into the play-offs over his career, but having never managed in the Championship before, and with Blackburn's lack of resources in comparison to the rest of the divison, continuing that trend at Ewood Park would be his toughest task yet.

However, having proven he can work with depleted budgets, he will take little adapting to Blackburn, and could be an excellent fit for the club.