Blackburn Rovers can forget about Royce and O’Neill by hiring EFL trophy winner

It has been 11 days now blackburn rangers Riverside have decided to sack Valentin Ismail after not winning a game in eight games.

Since his sacking, Rangers have beaten Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 under caretaker manager David Lowe, but his side then lost 2-0 to Norwich, leaving them in further trouble at the bottom of the table. championship.

Whatever happens, they will need a quick solution and it looks like Lowe will be in trouble for a third straight game when they travel to QPR on Valentine’s Day.

The latest news on Blackburn’s search for a new manager

This has been a long process and doesn’t appear to be resolved anytime soon.

In fact, Blackburn have been in talks with Gary Rowett to become their manager and are reportedly in talks to do so. they even plan to offer him the job.

However, that move fell through earlier this week and Rangers were forced to look for alternatives. They probably found a shape of Michael O’Neill has emerged as a candidate for the position. He has been Northern Ireland head coach since 2022 and is currently enjoying his second spell in charge of the national team. He has experience of life in the EFL having previously played for Stoke City.

Another option would likely be Lee Johnson. that is Reported by reporter Pete O’Rourke He revealed on social media that he is being looked at by a number of EFL teams who are looking for a new manager now or in the summer.

Johnson is currently coaching in Europe, where he is the head coach of Belgian second division team SK Lommel.

Why Johnson is a good appointment for Blackburn

It’s safe to say that the 44-year-old’s stock has fallen since his stellar spell at Bristol City.

Under Robins’ leadership, he built the team into a strong Championship team, ranking 11th in the 2017/18 season and rising to eighth in the 2018/19 season, narrowly missing out on a play-off spot.

However, he had to rebuild his career after less than promising spells at Hibernian and Fleetwood Town, winning just 26 of his 74 games in charge.

However, he has been in fine form at SK Lommel, with the Belgian side currently in sixth place and having lost just six of their 23 games so far.

He’s doing a similar job there as he did at Bristol City and looks like he’s got his mojo back.

On paper he may not be the most attractive or exciting manager, but like the aforementioned Reuter, he has experience in the EFL, having managed 402 games in the Championship and First Division. He has now also bravely tested himself abroad, where he has undoubtedly learned a lot about his management style.

Let us not forget what Johnson achieved at Bristol City. They finished eighth in the league in 2018/19, their highest finish in the football pyramid since Gary Johnson led his team to fourth in 2007/08.

Lee Johnson’s head coaching career
club	win%
oldham athletics	35%
barnsley	39.2%
city of bristol	38.7%
Sunderland	51.3%
Hibernian	38.5%
fleetwood town	27.3%
Lommel SK	48.3%

At Sunderland, while they failed to gain promotion to the First Division, finishing fourth in the 2020/21 season and missing out in the play-offs, they did win the EFL Trophy at Wembley. Excluding play-off wins in 2022 and 2025, this is the only trophy they have won since being crowned champions in 2006/07.

So, he does have a decent pedigree and what might also be of interest to people at Ewood Park is that he actually lost two and won three in seven games with Rangers.