"We fully understand" - Blackburn Rovers release John Eustace message as he joins Derby County | OneFootball

The 45-year-old has joined Derby County.

Blackburn Rovers have released a statement after John Eustace officially left the club ahead of a move to take over as the new Derby County manager, stating that they "fully understand" the reasons for his departure.

The 45-year-old has made no secret of his desire to move closer to his family in the Midlands and after a compensation package of around £500k was paid on Sunday, he has been in talks with the Rams.

There was an initial angry reaction from Rovers, with the club believing that their current league position and January transfer window signings were as good a reason as any for the new Derby manager to stay at Ewood Park.

Nevertheless, Blackburn showed no signs of a hangover from the saga on Wednesday evening as they returned to fifth place in the Championship table with an excellent 2-0 away win against play-off rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Blackburn release Eustace statement ahead of Derby move

While it has felt an eternity since the Rams first contacted Rovers at the weekend and made a formal approach for Eustace, in the space of just six days, Paul Warne has been sacked and a new man has walked through the door at Pride Park.

However, there will be a frustration that the now former Blackburn head coach has not stayed on to see the season out with the team in an incredible position with less than a third of the campaign to go.

The Lancashire-based club sent out a statement on Thursday morning confirming the departure of Eustace ahead of his move to Derby.

"Blackburn Rovers can confirm that John Eustace has left his role as Head Coach to take up a position with another Championship club," it started.

"While we are disappointed by his decision to leave at this crucial stage of the season, we fully understand that the opportunity to move closer to his family and return to a former club played a significant role in his choice.

"The club had hoped that John would see out the season and continue the fantastic work he has done, particularly after strengthening the squad in January and guiding us into a strong position in the league.

"However, with 14 games remaining and a real chance to push for a play-off place, the focus remains on achieving our ambitions.

"Football is always evolving, and while we part ways with John Eustace, this also presents an exciting opportunity for the new head coach to build on our current positive position."

The statement continued: "We remain in a good place in the league and the togetherness of the players, staff and supporters can all play a huge role in making it a successful end to the season.

"We would like to thank John Eustace, along with his assistants Matt Gardiner and Keith Downing, for their dedication and hard work over the past year. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

"David Lowe will continue to take temporary charge of first-team affairs, supported by Damien Johnson, Ben Benson, Mike Sheron and Paul Butler, until a permanent successor is appointed."

Blackburn's players have retained their integrity in the wake of a frustrating period

For the players and remaining backroom staff, this has been an incredibly difficult week. But they have not let that show, with their victory over West Brom an incredibly important one.

The battle for the final two play-off places has been getting tighter and tighter by the week with teams from fifth to 14th all involved. However, this win has put Blackburn in control to take one of those two positions.

An excellent Makhtar Gueye double handed David Lowe's side all three points at The Hawthorns, and ensured that Rovers did not slip out of the top six.

Despite this, there will be an expectation from supporters for the club to find a permanent replacement for Eustace quickly, but the transition has already been eased by the players' outstanding reaction.