Blackburn Rovers

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BBC Radio Lancashire is reporting that Blackburn boss John Eustace is expected to be announced as the new manager of Derby County later on Wednesday barring any "late hiccups".

It is anticipated the 45-year-old, who had two spells as a player at Derby, will be confirmed as the Rams' new boss in the next few hours following the sacking of Paul Warne on Friday.

BBC Radio Lancashire sports editor Andy Bayes stated on X, external that he expects Damien Johnson, David Lowe, Mike Sheron, Paul Butler and Ben Benson will be put in caretaker charge for Rovers' Championship game at West Bromwich Albion tonight.

Blackburn revealed on Monday, external they had reluctantly given a club permission to speak to Eustace after a release clause in his contract had been activated.

Ged Scott and Steve Hermon
BBC Sport England

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West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Mowbray has warned that Wednesday night's Hawthorns opponents Blackburn Rovers may well be "galvanised" after several days of speculation about his opposite number John Eustace's future.

Albion take on Mowbray's former club - fifth against sixth - looking for a third straight home win since the veteran Baggies boss returned.

Rovers could be managerless as Eustace appears on the verge of a move back to the Midlands. But, although he is expected to have been announced as the new Derby County boss before the game takes place, Mowbray does not expect any negative effect on his old club.

It was May 2022 when Mowbray left Ewood Park, but he told BBC Radio WM: "Knowing the likes of Lewis Travis and John Buckley, they are very determined, focused young footballers, who will just want to win the next game.

"Players are pretty resilient. Most of them will have been through a few managers.

"They're not all going to be distraught and not try because they've not got a head coach. I'm pretty sure it will galvanise the playing group, they will have a chat with each other and will come here and give it a real go.

"They're a club I spent five and a half very happy years with. It's a tough game for us when you look at their results. I've seen them twice this year at Middlesbrough, where I live. But they won both of those games 1-0."

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Mowbray will go into battle buoyed by what he saw on Monday night when Albion's Under-21s beat Newcastle United 3-1 - a game featuring both Daryl Dike and Semi Ajayi on their way back from injury.

Dike played half an hour for the Under-21s – exactly a year to the day since he tore his Achilles for the second time. Ajayi also played 45 minutes on his comeback from a four-month lay-off. And, although he its that Dike is "desperate to return", Mowbray says Ajayi is probably the closer of the two to a first-team return.

After waiting seven months for his league debut, goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith will make his second Hawthorns appearance in five days following the sale of Alex Palmer.

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett says he "expects" John Eustace to become the new Derby County head coach - but it won't change his approach to the game against them on Tuesday night either way.

Rowett suffered his first loss as U's boss at Burnley last week, having previously gone on a nine-game unbeaten run since taking over (W5 D4).

The 50-year-old returns to Pride Park, where he made 120 appearances as a player between 1995 and 1998 and managed from March 2017 to May 2018.

"It's a club I know really well, a club I've got a lot of fondness for, a lot of time for," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

"But ultimately, we're going back there trying to win the game, like I have done many times going back there as an opposition manager."

Paul Warne was sacked as Rams boss on Friday and Matt Hamshaw took temporary charge for their 1-1 draw at Norwich the following day.

Derby are understood to have made an official approach for Blackburn Rovers head coach Eustace but are yet to name their new boss.

"I don't know whether the situation will make a lot of difference to us in of what we've got to do," Rowett said.

"We will be prepared like we always are away from home and regardless of whether they do or don't have a new manager, we won't take the game in any different vein.

"My presumption - and it's probably not founded on anything other than presumption - is that at some point, John Eustace will probably be Derby manager.

"So, whether that's at some point tomorrow and he takes the game or whether he's at the game - whatever that is, I think if you're a Derby player, you're going to perform for the staff there like they did on Saturday.

"But you're also going to have half an eye on 'there might be a new manager somewhere out there watching', whether they're in the stands or the dugout, so I don't think it will change anything."

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Interim Derby County boss Matt Hamshaw expects to remain in charge for Tuesday's Championship game against Oxford, but is anticipating there will be a new head coach at Pride Park soon.

The Rams have made an official approach for Blackburn boss John Eustace, with the East Midlands club reportedly triggering a release clause of £500,000 for the 45-year-old.

BBC Radio Derby reported that Eustace's representatives were talking to the Blackburn owners on Monday about Derby's interest.

Eustace spoke about the approach after his side's FA Cup exit against Wolves on Sunday, although Hamshaw said there had been no specific mention of the Rovers boss when talking about who would succeed Paul Warne, who was sacked on Friday.

When asked about a timeline for the appointment, Hamshaw said: "They are trying to work as hard as they can to bring a new manager in, and hopefully there will be some light at the end of the tunnel sooner rather than later with that."

As far as Tuesday's home game goes, Hamshaw said he had "planned and prepped" as if he will be at the helm since Derby's draw at Norwich on Saturday.

"It's looking that way as we speak, but that could change again tomorrow (Tuesday) but I'm not assuming it will do," he said.

West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers meet at The Hawthorns for a vital clash between two play-off rivals on Wednesday night (20:00).

The Baggies are fifth - two points ahead of Rovers in sixth - and are undefeated in their past 11 home games (W5 D6).

Blackburn have won just one of their past four games (L4) and are a point ahead of Middlesbrough in seventh, who have a game in hand.

• West Bromwich Albion have won just one of their past six league games against Blackburn Rovers (D3 L2), though that sole victory did come in this exact fixture last season during a 4-1 success.

• Blackburn Rovers have failed to win any of their past six away league games against West Bromwich Albion (W3 D3), since a 3-1 victory at the Hawthorns in December 2010.

• West Brom have only lost one of their past 13 midweek home games in the Championship (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), earning victories in 10 of those matches (two draws).

• Blackburn Rovers have lost four of their past five away Championship games (D1), losing their past three in a row. They had won four away games in a row before this run.

• Since a run of six consecutive Championship victories between 9 November and 14 December, Blackburn Rovers have picked up just eight points in 11 games (W2 D2 L7).

I am co-commentating at this game for the iPlayer, and I am really looking forward to going back to Ewood Park.

People there always tell me the great Alan Shearer was lucky to play alongside me when we won the Premier League together, and I know Al says the same himself regularly too.

This is one of the ties where you think there is a chance of an upset, because of what Wolves boss Vitor Pereira might do - does he go full pelt, or rest a few?

Pereira will make some changes, I am sure of that, because staying in the Premier League will be his priority.

Rovers manager John Eustace has a different dilemma because I bet he would love to shuffle his squad to help their play-off bid, but he does not have the players to do it.

Eustace has done a phenomenal job to have them in and around the top six, despite not being given any help in of gs.

Scoring goals is Rovers' problem - Yuki Ohashi is out injured and Makhtar Gueye is not very prolific - and Andreas Weimann is their top scorer this season with eight.

They are solid enough, though, with the likes of Callum Brittain, who has probably been Blackburn's best player this season, alongside Dom Hyam and Danny Batth at the back. They have all been colossal.

Getting Lewis Travis back from injury has been important too. He is their real driving force in the middle of the park.

As I say, I am not sure what the Wolves team selection will be like, but Pereira might want to build on last weekend's win over Aston Villa.

Based on that, and the fact Blackburn play some good stuff but are not ruthless enough, this is another tie which could go the distance.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1 after extra time

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Blackburn welcome Premier League side Wolves to Ewood Park in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday lunchtime (12:30 GMT).

Rovers won the competition in 1928 and last reached a final in 1960, which they lost against this weekend's opponents. They have made it to the semi-final twice since then - in 2005 and 2007.

• This will be the first meeting between Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup since the 1960 final, which Wolves won 3-0; that is the most recent final of the competition either side reached.

• Wolverhampton Wanderers have won four of their past five away games against Blackburn Rovers (D1), since losing 3-0 in the Premier League in December 2010.

• Blackburn have progressed from each of their past six FA Cup fourth round ties, reaching at least the fifth round in each of the past two seasons. They last lost at this stage of the competition in 2010-11 (1-3 v Aston Villa).

• Wolves are looking to reach the FA Cup fifth round in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1993-94/1994-95. They've also won their past two away games in the competition, last winning three consecutively between March 1998 and December 1999.

• Andreas Weimann netted Blackburn's winner in the third round against Middlesbrough, his first FA Cup goal since January 2017 (for Wolves against Liverpool). All four of his goals in the competition have either come in the third round (2) or fourth round (2).

Andy Bayes
Sports Editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

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Almost a year into his Blackburn reign, John Eustace was, visibly, as frustrated as he's been since taking the job by Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at QPR - a result that leaves his side still in the top five but having played more than the chasing pack.

A team that won six on the bounce before Christmas has now won two of their past 11 in the Championship, a run that has angered the head coach, who is the first to always back his players publicly.

"To lose in the manner we did with another soft goal was very disappointing," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We've got to put our bodies on the line to keep the ball out of the net."

The defeat was Rovers' 12th of the league season. The four clubs above them in the table have lost a combined 14. West Bromwich Albion, a place below them, have lost six but drawn more than double the number of games Rovers have.

The two sides meet next week with Tony Mowbray and Adam Armstrong up against their former club.

The lack of draws has been key of late. In their past two away games, Blackburn have responded to being a goal down by scoring the next one, but have conceded again at pretty much the same time in both - with 13 or 14 minutes to go.

A point at Bristol City and QPR would have been more than acceptable on the face of it, having won the home games against both earlier in the season.

It's also the manner of goals going which has been cause for concern. In the past five games (W1 L4), you could argue at least four, if not more, of the goals were soft. Deflections you can't do a lot about, but others have been a bit of a head scratcher.

Eustace knows things have to improve at both ends to stand a chance of securing one of those play-off spots.

"We've got to defend the box better and be more clinical in the final third because we still had two or three great chances," Eustace said.

"We need to improve if we've got any aspirations of trying to get into the top six. We need to be better than we have been."

'Fifth is more than many could every have dreamed of'

Since well before the turn of the year, Eustace has stressed the need for new arrivals during the January transfer window to help the players he already has. Six players have been added to his squad, three on deadline day.

The reaction from the fanbase has been mixed. Some have questioned the recruitment model and how it works, others feel it's an improvement on recent winter windows when high-profile human errors cost them key players.

How many of them impact the starting XI on a regular basis between now and May remains to be seen.

Emmanuel Dennis is one that has caught the imagination and comes at some outlay. But he hasn't kicked a ball in domestic football for 10 months.

Cauley Woodrow's only Championship start this season was in early November. Dion Sanderson and Adam Forshaw are in a similar boat.

Yuri Ribeiro has been in and out of Braga's side and Augustus Kargbo, who made his debut at Loftus Road, has played 90 minutes once in Serie B since the start of September.

Undoubtedly one of Eustace's biggest strengths is getting the best out of the players at his disposal.

His players love to work for him and added options will be welcome with an absentee list still containing Hayden Carter, Harry Pickering, Sondre Tronstad, Yuki Ohashi, Arnor Sigurdsson and Harry Leonard.

The 25-man squad to be named this week provides an interesting and delicate conundrum for the head coach.

Rovers have 26 seniors on the books, meaning someone will have to sit out the remainder of the season.

There are 45 points still up for grabs. To be fifth in the table at this point is more than many could ever have dreamed of. It's all to play for.