Former Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Lambert believes his old club can still make a real push in the Championship, despite financial pressures and long-standing fan frustration with the club’s ownership.
Lambert, who spent time in the Ewood Park dugout, reckons the club’s Premier League-winning history means expectations remain high, even as fan tension lingers in the background.
Despite an encouraging start to the season under Tony Mowbray, who returned for a second spell in charge, Rovers are winless in four games and have spiralled down the table.
Yet Lambert insists there will always be demands on any manager in the hot seat, despite also acknowledging the same problems remain from years gone by.
Great expectations
“I think there’s always expectation at Blackburn because of what happened when they won the Premier League,” he said in a chat with BOYLE Sports who offer the latest football odds‘.
“There has been a lot of animosity towards the owners, and I think that’s still there.
“When I was there, that animosity was present, but there were some really nice people at the club. It’s a great club with a lot of history.”
Big transfer fees
Pointing to the massive transfer fees now being spent in the second tier, Lambert noted how difficult it has become for Blackburn to go toe-to-toe with the division’s biggest spenders, especially given their unpredictable form on the pitch.
“When you look at the Championship, with the transfer fees, it’s like what the Premier League was 15 or 20 years ago, so it’s difficult for them to compete against the bigger clubs,” Lambert explained.
“But Blackburn are also a team that produce results when you don’t expect them to, and then drop games when you think they’ll win.”
Ultimately, the former Celtic and Borussia Dortmund midfielder insists that cutting out those slip-ups and finding a steady rhythm is the key to launching a genuine promotion bid.
“They need to find that consistency,” Lambert added.
“Tony Mowbray is an experienced, good manager and a good guy, and it would be nice to see Blackburn have a real run at it.”
