Blackburn Rovers consider Wayne Rooney appointment - 3 Ismael upgrades the Venky’s have to consider first | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look at three managers who Rovers should consider instead of Rooney.

Blackburn Rovers' decision to hire Valerien Ismael following John Eustace's move to Derby County has simply not paid off, and results have been poor over the course of his short tenure at Ewood Park.

He has won just one of his eight matches in charge so far, with that victory coming against Luton Town at the weekend, but five defeats and two draws in that time have seen Rovers' chances of the play-offs all but extinguished.

The Lancashire outfit's chances of the top six next season look to already be over if they carry this form over into 2025/26, and plans are already in place if Ismael is sacked soon, with Wayne Rooney being touted as a potential replacement, as per TalkSport.

It would be a surprise move considering the difficulties that he has had in the Championship in the last two years with Birmingham City and more recently Plymouth Argyle. Football League World have taken a look at three other options which Blackburn should consider if they sack their head coach.

David Wagner

David Wagner has spent nearly 12 months out of work after being sacked by Norwich City following their play-off disappointment last season, but he has proven his Championship quality in the past.

He was the mastermind behind Huddersfield Town's incredible promotion to the Premier League in the 2016/17 campaign, when he was forced to work with very little in terms of a financial standpoint, and this could attract The Venky's.

The 53-year-old was able to keep the Terriers in the top flight the season after their Wembley win, but he lasted just 22 games into 2018/19 with his former club struggling at the foot of the table.

Nevertheless, he has plenty of experience that will help Blackburn whether they are fighting at the top, middle or bottom of the second tier, and he has shown at two different clubs that he does have the nous to work his way into the top six.

Des Buckingham

Des Buckingham's time at Oxford United was brought to a premature end in December, despite the U's sitting just outside of the relegation zone after winning promotion to the Championship last May.

A young and upcoming manager who has already tasted success, he could be exactly what Blackburn need to reignite the fire that was in the heart of Ewood Park throughout Eustace's reign.

Buckingham would have to be given time to help start a project in BB2, and with the ownership difficulties that Rovers are facing, that could be tough, but he has been a part of the City Football Group in the past, proving how highly he is rated.

Exciting and expansive football will be on show in Lancashire if the 40-year-old was handed the job, and he is a much safer pair of hands than Rooney, who has found it hard at times to get his teams playing the way he wants.

Rob Edwards

The second manager on this list to have won promotion to the Premier League and the third to oversee victory at Wembley in the play-offs, Rob Edwards is perhaps the manager who Blackburn should have gone in for when Eustace originally departed.

The ex-Luton boss has been out of work since he was sacked by the Hatters in January, and while his time at Kenilworth Road ended badly, it cannot be understated how important he was to the club's rise in recent years.

The 42-year-old did an incredible job with the Bedfordshire side in the 2022/23 campaign as they beat Coventry City in the play-off final to rise to the top flight, where he tried his best to get his team playing exciting football against the country's best.

Unlike Rooney, Edwards has already proven that he can push up the table with a team that perhaps should not have been as high as they were and he wrote himself into the club's history, and bringing this calm to Blackburn could be the perfect way to start next season.