Ipswich Town's Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers have parted company with manager Jon Dahl Tomasson.
His exit comes as Rovers sit 18th in the table, five points above the relegation zone with a game in hand. However, off-field issues have plagued the club in recent weeks, leading to significant fan backlash against their owners, the Venkys, as well as senior figures at board level.
Tomasson revealed that he offered to leave Ewood Park after missing out on a top-six finish last season, but the club wanted him to stay despite the fact that big financial cuts would have to be made, leaving little in the way of finances to improve the squad.
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The January transfer window was a chance to make changes after an underwhelming start to the campaign, although the biggest move was Adam Wharton's exit to Crystal Palace for a reported fee of £22.5 million.
Blackburn brought in John Fleck on a free transfer from Sheffield United as his replacement on deadline day, but they look set to miss out on striker target Duncan McGuire.
The Orlando City man heard that his permanent move to Lancashire was off the table as he was flying to the UK, and while the two clubs managed to renegotiate a loan deal with an option to buy, Rovers failed to click the 'submit paperwork' button on deadline day, meaning that it wasn't processed before the deadline.
Tomasson was subsequently told that he wouldn't be allowed to take his pre-match press conference ahead of his side's 2-1 defeat to QPR. He couldn't elaborate on any of the club's decisions after the game, but stressed that supporters shouldn't be kept in the dark over serious issues.
🔴 "It's not good when you're not able to speak to the fans. The fans are the soul and the passion of the game...but it was a club decision [not to do a pre-match press conference], and I have no comment about that decision."#Blackburn #Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson#bbcefl
— BBC Sport Lancashire (@BBCLancsSport) February 3, 2024
Tension began to build, and reports on Wednesday claimed that the manager had negotiated his exit as a result. Blackburn confirmed the news this afternoon, leaving them without anyone in charge ahead of Saturday's crunch clash against relegation rivals Stoke City.
It means that somebody else will be in charge when Town head up to Ewood Park on Good Friday (March 29th). The Blues won 4-3 when the teams last met in late September, which is the only time that Tomasson has faced Kieran McKenna to date.
The Dane, who won the Champions League with AC Milan during his playing career, has become the 14th managerial departure since the start of the season.
Former Birmingham City boss John Eustace is set to replace him, having controversially been sacked by the Blues in October when they were just outside the play-off places. His first away game in charge of Blackburn will be at St. Andrew's on Tuesday, February 13th.
Tomasson, on the other hand, has been linked with the Sweden national team job.
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