Rovers in a rush for Ince replacement

Blackburn Rovers want to have a successor to Paul Ince in place by this weekend after the struggling Premier League club sacked the former England midfielder as their manager on Tuesday.

Ince was fired just six months into a three-year contract after presiding over a run of three wins in 17 league matches which left Rovers second-bottom in the table and five points adrift of safety as they bid to secure their place in English football’s lucrative top-flight.

The final straw for the board of the north-west club was last Saturday’s 3-0 loss away to Lancashire rivals Wigan – Rovers’ sixth straight league defeat.

Coaching trio Archie Knox, Ray Mathias and Karl Robinson are now in temporary charge of team affairs at Ewood Park but Rovers said they wanted a new man at the helm come Saturday’s home game against Stoke City.

Blackburn chairman John Williams told Sky Sports: “We will endeavour to have a new manager in place for Saturday’s game with Stoke City at Ewood Park, but there are no guarantees and we must ensure that we get the right man.

“In the meantime, the day-to-day training will be carried out by Archie Knox, Ray Mathias and Karl Robinson.

“Our coaching staff and all of the players fully understand the importance of this weekend’s game.”

Blackburn’s decision to appoint Ince, who took over in June from Mark Hughes after his former Manchester United team-mate moved to rival Premier League club Manchester City, was widely praised.

It was felt the 41-year-old had done the ‘right thing’ in starting off his managerial career in the English lower leagues, firstly with Macclesfield and then MK Dons, whom he led to the League Two (fourth tier) title before joining Rovers.

There were many who felt Blackburn, having appointed Ince, should have given their inexperienced boss – the first black British manager of an English top-flight club – more time.

“I can understand that point, but we are halfway through the season and we are getting detached at the bottom,” said Williams, who stressed he was saddened by the decision to sack Ince.

“It is not something we like to do at all. But we have to think first and foremost about the club, and our predicament was worrying – and we had to make a decision which was in our best interests.”

Blackburn finished seventh in the Premier League last season but then sold key players in goalkeeper Brad Friedel (to Aston Villa) and David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur).

Ince then lost David Dunn to an Achilles injury from which he is only now returning while Steven Reid, another midfielder, was ruled out for the season with a knee problem.

That was not the end of Rovers’s injury woes, with Australia international Vince Grella sidelined for a month in November because of a calf problem.

“Blackburn have quite a small squad – and allied with those injuries, I think it made it quite difficult for Paul,” said the former Arsenal full-back Nigel Winterburn, brought in as a defence coach by Ince.

Former Blackburn boss Graeme Souness was the 11/10 favourite with British bookmakers Ladbrokes to replace Ince.