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Speculation surrounding the future of Steve Kean 'gets worse by the day' says Blackburn Rovers director

 

Pa
Tuesday 25 September 2012 14:09 BST
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The majority of Blackburn fans want Steve Kean out
The majority of Blackburn fans want Steve Kean out

Blackburn director of football Shebby Singh has admitted the situation surrounding manager Steve Kean's future at the club “gets worse by the day”.

The Rovers boss faces the axe after he failed to reach Singh's target of 16 points from the first seven games, despite Blackburn having their best ever start in the npower Championship.

They are currently in third place, behind Brighton and Huddersfield, with a total of 14 points, following their relegation from the Barclays Premier League last season.

"Unfortunately, the momentum [of the speculation about Kean] built up so fast it was quite difficult to step in and react," Singh told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We have people heading up different departments whose responsibility it is to step in but unfortunately it escalated at such a fast pace that before you know what happened, it hits you in the face.

"It should not have been allowed to escalate like that but it did and the situation gets worse by the day.

"Financially now it is not a good situation because the fans are staying away. The club needs revenue to survive.

"I guess with having played seven games now I think it is a situation which is not a very pleasant one and I suppose it is my bosses, the owners of the club [Venky's], who have to make an assessment."

Despite the uncertainty, Kean looks set to stay in charge for this weekend's fixture at Charlton.

Kean was appointed as Blackburn manager in December 2010 following Sam Allardyce's dismissal, and after his side avoided relegation on the last day of the season in 2011, they were unable to replicate survival this May and fell into the second tier.

The 44-year-old has faced pressure throughout his time in charge at the club, with large numbers of fans calling for him to be fired.

Owners Venky's had discussions about Kean's role over the weekend, with fans once again chanting for the Scot to be sacked after they slipped from top spot following Friday's home defeat by Middlesbrough.

The uncertainty around Kean's position comes as two supporters groups - the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Investment Trust (BRSIT) and Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust (BRST) - have joined forces to launch the Rovers Trust - a new membership scheme whose goal is to own the Ewood Park club in whole or in part.

The new membership drive for the Rovers Trust has been launched in a bid to sign up Blackburn fans for a £10 annual membership fee to give the group credibility.

The membership push will then be followed by a share-raising plan modelled on the 'pledge scheme' first launched by BRSIT earlier this year. That scheme has seen almost £3million pledged by supporters wanting to buy a £1,000 share in a new ownership model.

A target of £10m is being set by the co-chairmen, BRST founder Oliver Jones and Wayne Wild, one of the co-founders of BRSIT.

Jones said of the new trust scheme: "Our principal objective is to obtain full or part ownership of Blackburn Rovers and its assets on behalf of fellow supporters in order to represent supporters' views whilst protecting the club's short- and long-term future.

"Membership of Rovers Trust is very affordable for all fans and, at the very least, gives those supporters a real say in the future running of Blackburn Rovers."

PA

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