Tony Mowbray takes the reins at Blackburn Rovers

By Adam Ellis

Blackburn Rovers have appointed Tony Mowbray as their new head coach less than 24 hours after sacking Owen Coyle.

The former Coventry City boss has signed an 18-month contract to take on the task of securing Rovers’ place in the Championship for next season.

The club’s failure to muster any consistency so far this campaign has seen them bound to the Championship’s relegation battle – sitting 23rd in the league table, three points away from safety.

Mowbray brings considerable experience to the Ewood Park outfit having managed West Brom in the Premier League and righting the ship at a flagging Middlesbrough when they were in the Championship.

In his most recent job, Mowbray struggled to stimulate a young Coventry City side overshadowed by the growing dispute between the Sky Blues fanbase and the club’s owners Sisu. Ultimately ending in Mowbray leaving the Midlands club last September after a winless start to the season.

Handing in his resignation after 20 months at the Ricoh Arena, Mowbray commented: “I came to get this club out of this league and it looks like that’s not possible.

“We haven’t, ultimately, got the ingredients to do what I came to do so I think someone else needs to have a go at it.

“By waiting, carrying on and losing your job in a different way then that leaves a financial burden on the club, so I feel it’s right to walk away and not do that because the club needs every penny,” Mowbray said.

The 53-year-old faces a similar challenge in accessing funds at Blackburn, who have not bought a player since they signed Shane Duffy in the summer of 2014 for an undisclosed fee.

With mounting debts under the ownership of Venky’s, Owen Coyle was blocked from signing midfielder Giles Barnes during last month’s transfer window on a free, as the Indian owners seek to cut expenditure and increase income by selling key players Grant Hanley, Shane Duffy and most recently Ben Marshall.

Mowbray will take charge of Blackburn for the first time when they travel to the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday to face Burton Albion.