Blackburn Rovers: Jon Dahl Tomasson makes revelation on events involving the Venky's that led to his exit | OneFootball

Former Blackburn Rovers head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has spoken out about his controversial departure from Ewood Park last February.

Former Blackburn Rovers head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has revealed that budget cuts were the reason behind his departure from the club.

Tomasson replaced Tony Mowbray at Blackburn in June 2022, and he enjoyed an excellent first season in charge at Ewood Park, but his side agonisingly missed out on the Championship play-off places on the final day of the campaign.

However, speculation about Tomasson's future began to emerge in the summer of 2023 after it was revealed that Rovers' budget had been cut by 20%, and the Dane later claimed that he offered to resign, but he was convinced to stay by the club's hierarchy.

Tomasson's second year at the helm proved to be far less successful than his first, and after a run of just one win in 11 games saw Blackburn drop down to 18th in the table, he left the club by mutual consent last February.

Just weeks after his exit from Rovers, Tomasson took over as the new manager of the Sweden national team, and he has done an impressive job so far, leading his side to promotion to League B in the Nations League last year.

Jon Dahl Tomasson speaks out on Blackburn Rovers departure

Tomasson revealed that while he enjoyed his time at Blackburn, he felt that the goalposts were shifted by the ownership after the budget was cut, leaving him with little option other than to step down from his role.

"In my first season with Blackburn, we defied budget cuts and only missed out on the play-offs on goal difference," Tomasson told The Mirror.

"It was the best Rovers league finish in more than a decade, and we also had the best cup run in even more years.

"I loved the people in and around Rovers, but before my second season, the budgets were cut even more brutally and suddenly it was not about building and developing.

"It was not the project anymore that I signed up to do and I asked to be allowed to leave. They did not want that, but finally after the January transfer window they accepted it and I’m thankful for that."

John Eustace was named as Tomasson's successor at Ewood Park, and he kept Rovers in the Championship last term before leading them into play-off contention this season, but he departed after just over a year in charge to join relegation-threatened Derby County last month, with a lack of backing from the board believed to have been a factor behind his decision to move on.

It was well known that Tomasson was unhappy with the budget cuts at Blackburn, and on the basis of his comments, it seems as though he was keen to leave Ewood Park long before his eventual departure.

Tomasson is far from the only manager to experience frustration with the Rovers hierarchy, and with the Venky's already under fresh scrutiny following Eustace's move to Derby and the subsequent decline in form under new manager Valerien Ismael, his words will only add more fuel to the fire.

While some Blackburn supporters will still be disappointed with Tomasson about the manner of his exit and his decision to freeze out popular figures such as captain Lewis Travis, there is no doubt that he is an excellent manager who could have taken the club forward if he had been backed properly.