Blackburn Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael remains confident he can turn things around despite failing to win any of his six games in charge of the club.
The 49-year-old was handed the reins in February, replacing John Eustace at the helm. It was an unwanted change for the Championship outfit, albeit a forced one after the former Birmingham City boss opted to leave Ewood Park in favour of a move to relegation threatened Derby County.
Ismael picked up a valuable point against Norwich City in his first game in charge but has followed that with five successive defeats to all but end Rovers’ play-off hopes. The latest loss arrived last night against Middlesbrough, whose two first half goals were enough to seal the three points.
Ismael Remains Upbeat
The ex-Barnsley and Watford manager is already under pressure from some sections of the home support. However, he remains confident that he can turnaround his poor start. Speaking to The Lancashire Telegraph, he said:
“Nobody was expecting that. It’s clear. I never start like that.
“If you see my record, it’s something actually new for me as well. But you can explain that if you look behind the scenes and the problems, how the team performed for six months, which player won on the line-up.
“When I start my first game against Norwich, when I see the squad ahead, and tonight, then it’s a massive, massive difference.
Blackburn Rovers since Valerien Ismael took over:
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It’s safe to say that he hasn’t enjoyed the new manager bounce. 😬#Rovers pic.twitter.com/2y5eEkozod
— The Real EFL (@RealEFLSocial) April 4, 2025
“It’s clear. So when you start to lose one game, two games, you get into the confidence. But as I say, I take the challenge.
“I am focused on my job. I know we deal with the adversity at the minute. I didn’t take anything personally because I know that everyone wants to win, love football.
“It is a challenge. So I stay focused on my work, stay focused on my staff, on the players, stay positive. We know it’s just a situation and at some point it will go away.”
Writer’s View
With John Eustace having guided the club to the fringes of the play-off places, it was always going to be a tough ask for Ismael. However, it is worth noting that Blackburn’s poor form had started to creep in prior to his arrival. Still, he would have hoped that he could have provided some kind of bounce and it will be interesting to see if he remains in charge next season if things don’t improve.
