Blackburn Rovers

Valerien Ismael says managing Blackburn Rovers is the "most challenging experience" of his coaching career so far.

The Frenchman replaced John Eustace at Ewood Park in February, eventually taking them to within one place of the Championship play-offs last season.

This season has seen Rovers struggle with only one home win and they are three points clear of the relegation zone.

They have also had two home games abandoned while leading 1-0 because of a waterlogged pitch.

This week The Blackburn Rovers Supporters Coalition called for the club to be put up for sale by owners Venky's and for fans to boycott games after New Year's Day.

"I have to say this (managing Blackburn) is completely different to what I have experienced - very challenging but it's deeper than just the time I have been here," Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It's still Blackburn Rovers, we want to see them successful so it's the same job for me and trying to get the most wins we can.

"I have to say it's the most challenging experience (of my career) so far."

Ismael says he understands the supporters' frustration but not to let that interfere with the performance of his side.

"We have to respect the fans - it was a problem before my time and is more deeper than to just be disappointed," he said.

"The players need support so if you come just make sure you support the players, it's about Blackburn Rovers."

The former West Brom and Watford boss also says he has had direct contact with the club's owners who are based in India.

"We spoke on the phone directly so there is normal communication and I felt the full support which is important.

"We have someone here we can discuss things with but every time we plan something you have to wait a little while for the feedback.

"I can't complain that any of the problems I speak about internally aren't taken seriously - sometimes we want things to happen quickly but you have to accept sometimes the rhythm of things going in some kind of direction."

Blackburn host Millwall in the Championship on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

You can hear more Blackburn Rovers coverage on BBC Sounds.

Blackburn Rovers will look to end a five-match winless streak when they welcome fourth placed Millwall on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Rovers are just three points above the relegation zone, in danger of dropping into the bottom three should the fail to produce a point and Oxford and Portsmouth prevail.

But the Lions are a hard act to beat, competing to stay within the top six and looking to avoid being handed their first back-to-back defeat of the season.

• Blackburn are unbeaten in their last nine home league games against Millwall (W6 D3), since a 2-0 loss in November 2012 under Henning Berg.

• Millwall have won just one of their last 10 league games against Blackburn (D3 L6), a 1-0 home win in December last year.

• Blackburn have won just one of their 10 home league games this season (D3 L6), with only Sheffield Wednesday (2) picking up fewer home points than Rovers in the Championship (6).

• Millwall lost 3-1 against Hull in their last league game, last losing consecutive Championship matches in December last year (3 in a row).

• Blackburn have only scored 20 goals in the Championship this season, despite having an xG total of 27.8. This is the biggest underperformance (-7.8) by any team in the competition in 2025-26.

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers' Championship fixture against Sheffield Wednesday, which was abandoned earlier this month after a downpour at Ewood Park, will be replayed on Tuesday, 3 February.

The original game on 6 December was called off by referee Ruebyn Ricardo after 59 minutes with Rovers leading 1-0 at the time when the pitch was deemed unplayable.

It was the second fixture to be abandoned this season at Ewood Park because of a waterlogged pitch after September's game against Ipswich was called off after 79 minutes.

That match was replayed on 2 December and ended in a 1-1 draw.

Blackburn right-back Ryan Alebiosu says he is "frustrated" after the disappointing defeat at Portsmouth - but excited about heading to the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

The 23-year-old could make his international debut at the tournament in Morocco after being selected for Nigeria's final squad.

Alebiosu signed off from Blackburn duty by playing 90 minutes in Saturday's 2-1 loss at Fratton Park.

"Obviously, it's frustrating. 1-0 up and then to lose the game is just frustrating. It's annoying as well," Alebiosu told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We all wanted the three points, we all tried together, it's just the little details we need to keep working on and I'm sure the next half of the season, we'll get to where we need to get to."

Alebiosu said he is "obviously excited" to play for his country for the first time.

"It's a pleasure. Very much delighted, can't wait to get started and help my nation reach big things," he added.

"My family are delighted. As soon as I got the news, I've never seen them so happy. Great feeling.

"Nigeria came calling and it's something I didn't want to miss. It's a big opportunity, especially at 23 years of age."

If Nigeria make it all the way, Alebiosu could be out of action up to 18 January, with Rovers also having a game against Swansea on 20 January - a potential absence of eight matches.

Andy Bayes
Sports editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

Image source, Getty Images

Of Blackburn's 10 championship defeats from 20 games this season, this one is right up there with the most disappointing.

It may be that the lengthy commute back to Lancashire from Fratton Park influences the thinking a little, but this defeat was down to the fundamental basics of football and incidents that shouldn't happen at this level.

It's a head-scratcher to figure out which error is the worst really.

Rovers gave away two foul throws from two different players. They gave another away on Tuesday against Oxford.

They are regularly shipping crucial goals in a worryingly similar fashion. The head coach identified the individual who has been culpable for those lapses of late.

There was the completely needless concession of a corner with senior players watching the ball roll over the byeline without doing anything to stop it. The resulting corner found a centre-back completely unmarked to head home a winner.

And, deep into stoppage time, there was being caught offside from a pretty straight free-kick when it was the last chance to throw something at Portsmouth.

Apart from one of the foul throws, this all happened in the second half, with Rovers going into the break leading through a fabulous Yuki Ohashi goal.

Fratton Park was quiet at half-time, discontent building. But, for whatever reason, one passage of play where Portsmouth came close to scoring on three occasions changed the whole landscape.

The crowd started to believe, the players did too, and the mentality of Valerien Ismael's team could be called into question.

Surrendering a lead in games is nothing new this season - 16 points have been lost from winning positions. Looking fragile at defending set-plays is nothing new either.

The defeat has left Ismael adamant his squad needs to be strengthened in the January transfer window - and early.

Ismael told me: "We've spoken already with the board. I say as quick as possible. The longer we are waiting, the more problems we will get.

"Every game counts in January. We need new faces, we need to refresh. We need to adjust the squad, to adapt with the shape that we play. The earlier the players come in, the better it will be for us.

"We've got already the list identified. Now it's not in my control. We've made our job now. It's clear that we need players. We will get some and the best is to have them ideally on 1 January, but that is always difficult.

"The week after is the game against Hull City in the FA Cup and I think we can use that game to integrate all of the new players."

Ismael is a straight-talker. He's clear in his mind of what he wants. Now it remains to be seen if those targets can be brought in as early as he wants them.

Rovers have been more of a deadline-day deal team in recent seasons. Seven players have been added permanently or on loan in the past two January windows on or after 31 January.

It's also pretty clear that in order to bring in the new faces he wants, there will be casualties too.

They currently have 24 names in their squad already so there is one spot left but you get the feeling the head coach has made his decision that some existing players won't be part of the plan in 2026.

It's not an impossibility that some arrivals last summer might not see out the season.

Ismael added: "At some point it's all about the performance, the squad, the discipline we see on the pitch. In our assessment we have to be ruthless now.

"We know that we can perform, we know that we need all of our [injured] players and at some point we have to make decisions. If something is not right and we're not happy, then we have to make the change."

This time last year, John Eustace was very keen to add to his squad to maintain a play-off push. Twelve months on, Blackburn's championship status could rest on the success rate of their mid-season window.

Blackburn head coach Valerien Ismael said he was "very angry" with one of his players after the 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth.

Ishmael told BBC Radio Lancashire: "You know when you come here you have to be strong and we managed well in the first half. We had some good situations and I'm really pleased for Yuki [Ohashi] for his reward.

"We actually started the second half well, for 10 minutes, but then conceded from the same mistake again.

"Two weeks ago when it happened we showed the players the video and made specific points, saying we had to make sure we are coming back at full sprint to defend.

"That goal affected us, you could see from the performance, because the players were thinking about that.

"Mistakes happen in football but this is second time, third time with the same player and we're very angry about that.

"It's discipline, concentration, the basics. We have to defend all together and attack all together."

Image source, Opta

A big game at the bottom end of the Championship as Portsmouth host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (15:00 GMT) with both sides desperate for three points.

Pompey remain in the relegation zone, two points from safety, after they suffered a third defeat in a row at fellow strugglers Swansea on Tuesday.

They'll get another chance to close the gap on those around them when they take on a Blackburn side five points ahead of them in 20th.

Rovers' form has not been the best having not picked up a win in their past six league outings, drawing three on the bounce heading into this.

• Portsmouth are looking to register consecutive league wins against Blackburn for the first time since September 1985.

• Blackburn Rovers have won two of their last seven away league games against Portsmouth (D2 L3).

• Portsmouth have lost three of their last five home league games (W1 D1), only one fewer in their previous 22 combined (W13 D5 L4).

• Blackburn have won five of their last eight away league games (D1 L2), winning three of their last four since losing at Coventry in October.

• Portsmouth's Conor Chaplin has been involved in six goals in his last seven league games against Blackburn (4 goals, 2 assists).

The return of captain Todd Cantwell will see an upturn in results for Blackburn Rovers, says boss Valerien Ismael.

Rovers are currently 20th in the Championship table with just one win from their past six matches as they prepare to visit fellow strugglers Portsmouth on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Cantwell, 27, returned from a two-month absence with a knee injury at the start of December and has appeared as a substitute in the draws with Ipswich Town and Oxford United, scoring a penalty against the U's on Tuesday.

"We've found the way and the shape for this team, and we have the position for Toddy as well, which is really good," Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"He was on an unbelievable level before his injury. Now he's back we still need to manage him. Every time it's a closed discussion with him - how he feels and how long he thinks he can play."

Ismael also believes handing the club captaincy to Cantwell following the departure of Lewis Travis in August has brought a new dimension from the forward.

"At the beginning of the season when I made the decision, I had a long discussion with him. For almost one hour, we discussed everything," Ismael added.

"I think the responsibility was a big lift for him, he wanted that.

"He came to a point in his life where he wanted to prove to himself that he's able to do that, to change maybe the image that people have got of him [that he's a] soft player and not consistent with a lot of quality, and I think he's shown that he's a leader."

Ismael is hopeful midfielder Sondre Tronstad could return for the trip to Fratton Park while goalkeeper Balazs Toth and midfielder Ryan Hedges could be involved against Millwall on December 20.

"It's embarrassing, they should not be getting games [abandoned] when no other games are getting cancelled.

"I think the fact that they were leading both [matches] compounds what is already a really bad situation."

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by Peterborough Sports boss Phil Brown to discuss troubling pitch problems for Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and Southampton making it official with boss Tonda Eckert handing him a contract until 2027.

Listen to the full episode of 72+ and more on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers have moved their FA Youth Cup third-round tie against Southampton away from Ewood Park to try to protect the pitch.

Friday's tie will now take place at Chorley's Victory Park ground so work can be carried out on the playing surface at Rovers' home of 135 years.

"The decision has been made to move this fixture away from Ewood Park in order to carry out essential works with the aim to protect the pitch for upcoming Championship fixtures," the club said in a statement., external

Blackburn have had two Championship matches abandoned this season because of waterlogged pitches - last Saturday's with Sheffield Wednesday followed September's game against Ipswich - with Rovers leading 1-0 at the time in both.

The club's head coach, Valerien Ismael, said earlier this week he would be willing to sacrifice part of his transfer budget if it meant the money was reallocated to improving their pitch.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael believes Todd Cantwell is his side's "technical leader" after the midfielder's penalty prevented a home defeat to Oxford United.

Cantwell came on at half-time for Taylor Gardner-Hickman and scored the crucial spot kick following Jack Currie's handball in the second half to earn a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park.

"When you play at home, you want to win after 90 minutes," Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"If you stay 0-0 in the second half, we knew the game would open up and be better for us. When our players come back from injury, we look completely different — more control, composure and creativity.

"Todd [Cantwell] is clearly the technical leader and gives confidence to everyone. Moussa [Baradji] came in strong, and Dion [De Neve] with his energy.

"We're doing the right things. On the other hand, some players are starting to get tired — we've had a lot of games.

"We're looking forward to Saturday because afterwards we'll finally have a week to recover before the Millwall game."

Image source, Getty Images

The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

Rob Heckingbottom
Blackburn Rovers fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

One win, two draws, six losses. This year's home form isn't great viewing on paper, despite the small shoots of unity and improved performances we've seen in recent weeks.

Coming into Saturday, it had the feeling of a 'must-win' game against Sheffield Wednesday - unfortunately, we came away wet and worried.

Having been at both the abandoned Ipswich game (on 20 September) and Sheffield Wednesday fixture this weekend, the comparisons are hard to avoid. In both moments of the season, a win was in our hands - something that could have lifted us, steadied the mood, and changed the trajectory.

Now we're faced with another replay that might carry an all-too-familiar feeling after the brutal ending to the second Ipswich match.

The Sheffield Wednesday match itself didn't offer much in terms of excitement - maybe in part due to the weather - but there was one bright moment thanks to a well-worked goal in the 33rd minute, with Ryoya Morishita sliding a perfect ball across for Yuki Ohashi to finish.

That gave us the lead, and for a while it felt like the day might finally belong to us. But before the hour mark, the rain won. The pitch became unplayable, and the referee abandoned the game after 59 minutes with Rovers still 1-0 up.

To add to the blow, all the yellow cards stand, despite the game being abandoned -Adam Forshaw, Ryan Alebiosu and George Pratt were all booked before half-time - and seeing Forshaw come off injured just before the break was another hit, given his recent performances and an already-stretched squad.

The weather on Saturday wasn't the worst we've seen at Ewood, and other clubs around us managed to get their games played. But it does make you wonder, what does this mean for future home fixtures as winter properly settles in?

So, what's next? If we can get through 90 minutes against Oxford United on Tuesday, can we finally put three home points on the board?

Right now, it feels like every time we get close, something - be it the weather, injuries, or late drama - snatches it away. And as fans, all we want is that feeling of walking out of Ewood with a win.

But with a yellow weather warning hanging over Tuesday and the prospect of yet another waterlogged pitch, the storm clouds aren't just metaphorical, they're real.

So, let's hold tight (onto our hats and coats).

Image source, Opta

Weather-permitting Blackburn will seek to get back to winning ways at Ewood Park as they welcome Oxford United on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

Saturday's game against Sheffield Wednesday was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch with Rovers leading 1-0 just before the hour mark.

It was second abandonment of the season at Ewood Park after the clash with Ipswich on 20 September, in which the hosts led 1-0 against 10 men after 80 minutes.

The U's go into this game sat 21st, one point above the relegation zone and two places and three points behind Rovers, following Saturday's 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Swansea.

• Blackburn have lost just one of their past seven league games against Oxford United (W4 D2), though the defeat came in their last meeting in January at the Kassam Stadium (0-1).

• Oxford have won just one of their 12 away league games against Blackburn (D5 L6), winning 3-1 in December 1990 under Brian Horton.

• Blackburn are winless in their past six midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship home games (D2 L4), since a 3-0 win over Portsmouth in January.

• Oxford are winless in their past eight midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) Championship games (D3 L5) since beating Luton 3-2 in January.

• Oxford manager Gary Rowett has won just three of his 13 career league games in charge against Blackburn Rovers (D4 L6), failing to win on any of his four visits to Ewood Park (D1 L3).

Andy Bayes
Sports Editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

Image source, Shutterstock

Once is enough, twice is too many - Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park pitch has become a real problem.

For the second time this season a match has been abandoned.

In September, it was the best part of 80 minutes before the referee was left with no choice but to call a halt to a match against Ipswich, and on Saturday it was pretty much an hour in when Ruebyn Ricardo brought the Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday players from the field.

To be fair to the official, he gave the ground staff a 10-minute window to remove as much excess water as they could from the playing surface, but they were fighting a losing battle.

In Rovers' 150th anniversary year, Ewood Park has been anything but home sweet home.

Yes, the results are down to the management and the players, but it's only right to say that some of the circumstances going against them are beyond their control.

In both matches that have been abandoned, they've been in front at the time of the premature whistle.

That must anger and disappoint Valerien Ismael and his players in equal measure.

Of course, in both games, the result was by no means guaranteed, particularly with Rovers' tendency to concede late on.

The circumstances of both games not reaching the distance need a thorough internal investigation.

The word used by supporters on their way home was more often than not "embarrassing", and you can understand why.

Just eight miles down the road, Accrington Stanley hosted 120 minutes of FA Cup second-round action plus a penalty shootout.

And 13 miles away Preston North End completed their fixture with Wrexham without issue.

Less than 25 miles away, AFC Fylde completed a 1-0 victory over Merthyr Town in the National League North.

It's pretty clear that something is wrong and needs to be rectified with some urgency.

Who is to say that this will be the last time that it happens?

The infrastructure of the pitch is dated - it was put down 36 years ago and like most things, technology has moved on considerably in that time.

A new pitch system costs a lot of money and it's down to the owners, the Venkys, to decide if they want to foot a sizeable bill.

For those not familiar with Ewood Park, being so close to the River Darwen makes the stadium's drainage system particularly vulnerable during periods of heavy rainfall, as the water outlet from the pitch flows into the river.

A swollen river prevents the pitch from draining effectively, resulting in a waterlogged surface.

However, head groundsman Trevor Wilkin confirmed this wasn't the case in September when the Ipswich game was abandoned, it was the sheer amount of rainfall to blame, and now we await the findings of what happened on Saturday.

The rain was torrential and constant.

The half-time interval seemed to speed up the process as what looked perfectly playable in the first half clearly wasn't after the restart, and the right decision was reached.

What the EFL makes of it also remains to be seen.

The only other fixture to be abandoned this weekend was at Rochdale, who have well-publicised issues with waterlogging.

So much so that they are going through a mid-season rebuild process which will see them temporarily set up base at Accrington Stanley, whose owner Andy Holt financed a reconstruction of their Wham Stadium pitch in 2019.

After waiting 10 weeks to get back to parity with the rest of the division, in terms of games played, Blackburn Rovers are once again left to play catch-up.

Blackburn Rovers winger Ryan Hedges is expected to be out for "a couple of weeks" after picking up an injury during the 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town on Tuesday.

The injury blow comes after attacking midfielder Todd Cantwell made his comeback from a knee problem that ruled him out for nine league games to play 19 minutes against the Tractor Boys.

"It's not a big injury [for Hedges], but it will take him out for a couple of weeks," boss Valerien Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It's always the story [players picking up injuries], so now we are used to doing that.

"We find the way back, the players show resilience not to be affected by a missing player. Really important to us that we keep the performance always high."

Blackburn will face bottom side Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Listen to the full interview with Ismael by clicking play on the video above.

Blackburn Rovers will look to let their frustrations from their 1-1 draw to Ipswich Town on Tuesday go as they host basement dwellers Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Rovers boss Valerien Ismael was vocal about his disappointment in refereeing decisions that did not go their way during their controversial replay against the Tractor Boys that saw them succumb to a third successive winless game.

But now they face a side who have been on a much longer run without a win (12) and so deep into the relegation battle the hope of getting out is sparse - but with nothing left to lose, could the Owls be up for causing more turmoil at Ewood Park?

• Blackburn have won just one of their last six league games against Sheffield Wednesday (D2 L3), beating them 1-0 at Hillsborough in December 2024.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost just two of their last nine away league games against Blackburn (W3 D4), with those defeats coming consecutively in December 2018 and November 2019.

• Sheffield Wednesday have lost each of their last four league games, their second such run already this season. They last lost more consecutively in February/March 2021 (7).

• Sheffield Wednesday are winless in their last 12 league games (D4 L8), last having a longer run between August and October 2023 (13).

• Barry Bannan either scored or assisted a goal in each of his first four league games for Sheffield Wednesday against Blackburn (1 goal, 4 assists). However, since then he's failed to score or assist in six games against Rovers.

Andy Bayes
BBC Radio Lancashire sport editor

Image source, Getty Images

In a little over six weeks, Blackburn Rovers and Ipswich Town will meet again.

Rovers will scarcely be able to believe that they've taken just one point against them in the best part of two games so far.

This was the 'game in hand', the rearranged match following the highly controversial abandonment of the original league fixture in September due to heavy rainfall.

Valerien Ismael's side certainly produced one of their better performances at home, but ultimately, after nine league games at Ewood Park, they have just one victory.

They haven't kept a home clean sheet for 15 matches, and a 94th-minute Ipswich leveller will take some getting over so soon after the same thing happened at Wrexham on Saturday.

The match itself wasn't littered with clear-cut chances and goalkeeping saves. But Rovers were the more proactive, the more likely to score throughout the evening.

Considering the cost to assemble both squads being so different, Ipswich lacked a cutting edge and gave the ball away in their own half regularly.

The two main talking points involved big refereeing calls for referee Oliver Langford to make. Neither went Rovers' way, which incensed Ismael. He told me after the game how the standard of officiating at the level is 'a disgrace'.

There is an old saying that refereeing decisions even themselves out over a season. I remember having this conversation with Sam Allardyce during his time at Bolton and Blackburn Rovers, and he didn't believe that was the case. When it's your team and you're the boss, it's very difficult to see the bigger picture, I suppose.

Ismael pointed out that key match incidents in seven matches this season have cost his side; on some occasions, there has been more than one incident in the same game.

I'm pretty sure that if you talk to EFL head coaches up and down the country, they'll be able to point out some decisions that have gone against them too.

I thought the atmosphere was an improvement on six days earlier against QPR. Ismael was keen to point that out in his post-match summing up, and they've two more games in a row to try and address the painful points return at Ewood.

I don't think you can underestimate the importance of getting results against Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford before the next road trip to Portsmouth.

Late goals are a growing concern. We're not just talking about the last two games either.

To concede seven goals in the 90th minute or later is a recipe for trouble.

Two to Birmingham cost them all three points, with the last two games costing them a combined four. The team and the staff need to improve their decision-making in this area.

Substitutions are key, and don't get me wrong – head coaches aren't going to get them right every time. The fact that you can change half of your outfield every game doesn't necessarily mean that you have to.

On too many occasions recently, Ismael has played his cards, and they haven't worked. We're living in the age of managing workloads more than ever before.

Adam Forshaw is a case in point. He's been terrific in the last two games but was withdrawn on 57 minutes against Ipswich because he's needed for Saturday.

Because of a lengthy absentee list, it rarely looks like the team is getting the boost it needs to see games through, apart from Todd Cantwell's timely return to action for 20 minutes.

It's very much a case of what might have been in recent games. Since the highly impressive away win at Preston, two points from nine isn't really a reflection of what they should have taken.

But, the reality is that they are where they are.