Chances of Blackburn Rovers appointing ex-Wolves boss become clearer | OneFootball

It doesn’t look like the ex-Premier League boss will be heading to Ewood Park

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil has been ruled out of the Blackburn Rovers vacancy.

That’s by talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook, who posted the news on his X account.

Rovers are in search of a new manager since former boss John Eustace departed for Derby County towards the bottom of the Championship.

He had been one of the favourites for the gig, but it seems that someone else will step in to fill the vacancy.

Gary O’Neil ruled out of Blackburn Rovers job

Crook revealed the news on Monday night via his social media account, saying: “Told Gary O'Neil to #Rovers is a ❌”

O’Neil had been the odds-on favourite to take the job before Crook revealed the news.

It means that Rovers’ unexpected mid-season hunt for a manager will drag on further, with games against an equally managerless Swansea City — after they relieved Luke Williams of his duties — a tough game against Norwich City, followed up by an eye-catching clash with Eustace’s new side Derby.

David Lowe is on manager duties for Rovers while the hunt continues for a permanent appointee, having been an assistant manager at the club for a number of years.

Other linked Rovers managers

Some bookies have Lowe fairly high up in the running for the permanent role, but he has some tough competition to beat to the job.

Raphael Wicky is high in many people’s thoughts after being relieved of his duties at BSC Young Boys early last year.

Former team-mates have also tipped ex-Aston Villa, Rangers and Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard for the gig, noting his availability and the proximity of Blackburn to his Liverpudlian roots.

It remains to be seen over the coming days who replaces O’Neil as favourite, but it will come as a massive boost to those chasing the job to see the former Wolves boss reportedly drop out of the race.

Blackburn need to sort their predicament out quickly

Although this situation is not one of Rovers’ making — they could scarcely have predicted they’d lose their manager to a team at the other end of the table — they need to find a quick resolution.

After only narrowly avoiding relegation by a few points last season, few would have expected Blackburn to be fighting it out of a play-off place in the following campaign, especially after losing chief goalscorer Sammie Szmodics to Ipswich Town in the summer.

They need to capitalise on the incredible place they’ve got themselves into this year and ensure they keep that play-off place, and a prolonged search for a manager, with candidates dropping in and out of the race, won’t help create a settled environment on or off the pitch.

Rovers must act quickly to find themselves a manager capable of maintaining their position over the final few months of the season. If that isn’t to be O’Neil, then they must work to find the next best option — it’s not every season that Blackburn manage to get themselves into this position.