Blackburn Rovers: Venky's slammed for "cheap" Valerien Ismael appointment following Stoke defeat | OneFootball

Ismael's start to life at Ewood Park has been far from ideal, and some are already believing the Frenchman was the wrong choice...

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Valerien Ismael is just three matches into his Blackburn Rovers managerial career, but the signs are already there that it could be a struggle for the Frenchman.

An unexpected vacancy came up at Ewood Park in February when John Eustace surprisingly swapped a play-off push for a relegation battle with his former club Derby County.

And after David Lowe took charge on an interim basis for a handful of matches, the Blackburn hierarchy decided that former Barnsley, West Brom and Watford boss Ismael was the perfect choice to take over from Eustace - it hasn't gone well so far though.

Blackburn Rovers regrets already evident with Valerien Ismael appointment

In his three matches in charge so far, Ismael has managed to pick up just one point from a possible nine, and if it wasn't for a 96th-minute equaliser by Andreas Weimann against Norwich City, it would have been a full blank.

Rovers escaped with a 1-1 draw against the Canaries, but in their reunion with Eustace on Saturday at Pride Park they went two goals behind after just seven minutes, with a 2-1 loss at the end of the day against County.

Blackburn were lacklustre once more on Wednesday night as they were downed 1-0 by Stoke City, where they registered just two shots on target, and FLW's Rovers fan pundit Simon Middlehurst is already of the belief that the wrong decision was made by the club's hierarchy to appoint Ismael.

"I believe the club got it wrong with this appointment," Simon told FLW.

"They clearly went for the cheap option, they weren't willing to put their hands in their pocket to pay the money for an experienced coach that we needed.

"At the minute, the team is just not playing anywhere near as good as we've done this season. We've had something like two shots on target in two games, which at this stage of the season isn't good enough, especially when it comes to carrying on and making that push for the play-offs, which with the way things are going I think Blackburn are well and truly out of it.

"A lot of fans are actually saying the play-offs are over already for us. Things need to turn around quickly otherwise Ismael is going to have more fans on his back, and at this stage of the season that's not what he wants and not what he needs at all."

Blackburn Rovers fans turning on Valerien Ismael already is a sign of the times at Ewood Park

Fan frustrations at Ewood Park are nothing new amongst Blackburn Rovers fans, with some of the actions of the Venky's over the years and their associates such as Suhail Pasha and Steve Waggott really rubbing some up the wrong way.

From admin mishaps which have caused transfers to fall through to key players being sold and not adequately replaced, the last few years have not been kind to followers of the Lancashire outfit, and at the time of his appointment, many were questioning if Ismael was the right fit.

It may be too early to judge him just yet, but the Champions League-winning Frenchman, whilst he was a solid defender in his playing days, has been unable to organise his new side effectively just yet - whether it will ever happen remains to be seen.