Blackburn Rovers: Gary O'Neil, 51-y/o Spaniard & ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss on manager shortlist | OneFootball

Rovers have formulated their potential list to succeed Eustace at Ewood Park

Blackburn Rovers could offer Gary O’Neil a return to football management after reportedly shortlisting the former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager for their upcoming vacancy, along with a host of foreign coaches.

Current boss John Eustace is set to depart Ewood Park after Derby County activated a reported £500,000 compensation clause.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, O’Neil is the only candidate from the UK on Rovers’ shortlist.

Former Championship bosses Aitor Karanka and Carlos Carvalhal are also both in the frame, with Rovers aiming to make a quick appointment to sustain their play-off push with just 15 games to go in the season.

Blackburn are currently sat sixth in the Championship table, with a key clash away at fifth-placed West Brom this evening.

Swiss coach Raphael Wicky has also been name-dropped as a potential candidate, having seen a move to West Brom fall through recently.

Blackburn Rovers: Gary O'Neil candidate to replace John Eustace alongside Wicky, Karanka & Carvalhal

Reuters

Whilst O’Neil’s previous management experience only covers the Premier League thanks to spells as boss at AFC Bournemouth and Wolves, the former Portsmouth midfielder has previously coached in the Championship as an assistant at the Cherries.

When Scott Parker was sacked four games into the 2022/23 Premier League season, O’Neil was given his first managerial experience as interim boss.

The rookie head coach did enough to earn the job on a permanent basis, going on to steer Bournemouth away from the drop, despite being heavy favourites to go down.

The Cherries dismissed O’Neil in the summer of 2023 in favour of Andoni Iraola, in a bold move that has since paid dividends, but O’Neil was quickly back in management as he was installed as Wolves boss on the eve of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

After managing the Midlands outfit for 63 games, O'Neil sacked earlier this season with the Midlands outfit struggling towards the

bottom of the Premier League table, but he could be set for a quick return to football if he lands the Rovers vacancy.

Other out of work candidates for the job are Karanka and Wicky, with the former not being in charge of a club since a brief stint in Israel with Maccabi Tel-Aviv in 2023.

Wicky meanwhile won the Swiss League with Young Boys in 2023, but was dismissed from his post in March 2024 after a poor run of results for the Bern-based outfit.

How do Blackburn Rovers candidates stack up against each other?

Whilst O’Neil is viewed as a promising young English coach – a rare sight these days – Blackburn may turn to experience in order to secure their best chance of promotion.

Both Karanka and Carvalhal have ample experience in the Championship, whilst also boasting more years in coaching compared to O’Neil.

Karanka also has promotion pedigree, having led Middlesbrough to the Premier League in 2016, but also had spells at Nottingham Forest and Birmingham which weren't as successful.

Whilst not as successful as Karanka, Carvalhal has previous in leading sides to the top six of the second tier of English football.

In two full seasons with Sheffield Wednesday, the Portuguese boss qualified for the Championship play-offs in both campaigns, albeit without going on to win promotion.

However, the fact that Carvalhal is currently in a job in his native Portugal with Braga is a major stumbling block and it could price Rovers out of a move.

Like O’Neil, the aforementioned Wicky has no previous management experience in the Championship.

The Swiss manager was linked to West Brom before Tony Mowbray’s appointment, with Wicky out of a job since departing Swiss top flight side Young Boys in March 2024.