Valérien Ismael: Blackburn Rovers sack head coach after year

Analysis by BBC Radio Lancashire’s Andy Bayes

To announce the departure of a head coach five hours before the transfer window closes is a little different, but the executives at Blackburn Rovers probably felt that they had no choice following an eighth home defeat of the season on Saturday.

When I spoke to Valerien Ismael after the defeat by Hull City, he couldn’t defend that record, and he didn’t particularly back himself to turn things around either, after a run of one win in 15 games in all competitions.

In a little under a year in charge, he won 11 of his 43 games. A win percentage like that is always going to be scrutinised, and rightly so.

The playing roster has undergone enormous change under his tenure. Experienced Championship stalwarts have been replaced by those with little or no experience of the level. Some have settled, while others have found it tough. This was a decision made above Ismael and one that they admitted in September was a risk.

Only Adam Forshaw and Todd Cantwell started both Ismael’s first and final game in charge.

He inherited a team sixth in the Championship but ultimately failed to make the play-offs after five straight defeats in the run-in. Four wins and a draw from the final five saw them come close, but not close enough, and it never really felt that the fanbase was entirely won over.

This season, a run of four wins in five during October and November was a positive sign that things were moving in the right direction, but Ismael only tasted victory once more from that point on.

He had horrendous luck with injuries. For weeks on end it was double figures in terms of absentees; for the recent visit to Swansea, that number rose to 14.

But he remained convinced that once those injuries cleared up, the results would come. Time was against him to make that happen.

He did admit to me before Christmas that managing Rovers was the most challenging experience of his career, completely different from what he had experienced before.

Whoever comes next is a huge call. Staying in the second tier is absolutely imperative.