John Eustace to replace Jon Dahl Tomasson as Blackburn boss head of Stoke clash

08 February 2024 , 12:28

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Eustace will replace Tomasson in the Rovers dugout for Saturday's clash against Stoke (Image: Getty Images)

John Eustace will succeed Jon Dahl Tomasson as Blackburn boss ahead of Saturday’s vital home clash with Stoke.

Blackburn’s Indian owners, Venky’s, have wasted no time in replacing Tomasson after they accepted his resignation and have turned to Eustace.

Venky’s are deeply concerned by Rovers’ return of just five points from their last 11 games and know their next appointment has to hit the ground running.

They have ruled out making a caretaker appointment and hope Eustace can revitalise their demoralised dressing room, starting against his old club Stoke.

Eustace, 44, has been out of work since being sacked by Birmingham in October to make way for Wayne Rooney, despite leading the Blues to sixth.

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He kept Birmingham in the Championship during his one full season in charge and they survived comfortably after being tipped for relegation.

Venky’s are also impressed by his caretaker spell at QPR in 2019 and he took seven points from his seven games in charge to keep Rangers in the Championship.

Venky’s hope Eustace can have a similar impact at Rovers and the club has slipped perilously close to the drop zone.

Venky’s have accepted Tomasson’s resignation after the Dane felt he could no longer carry on at Ewood Park because of the financial “handgrenade” as he called their meltdown.

Tomasson has resigned from his position as Blackburn boss (Dave Howarth/CameraSport)

Will John Eustace keep Blackburn in the Championship? Have your say below.

The final straw for him was the club messing up USA striker Duncan McGuire’s signing from Orlando City to leave him short of the goalscoring he so badly needed.

Venky’s refused to hand over the cash to sign McGuire and a deal was stuck with Orlando to sign him on loan now with a view to a permanent deal in the summer, only for Rovers to neglect to submit the paperwork to the EFL.

The EFL blocked the deal on Tuesday and a gutted Tomasson handed in his resignation on Wednesday afternoon. It has been claimed that Robbie Fowler was keeping tabs on the situation but Mirror Football understands Eustace will land the job.

David Anderson