Williams struggled at Rovers after Sam´s sacking

Former Blackburn chairman John Williams had lost interest in the club and struggled to work with Steve Kean after Sam Allardyce’s sacking.

That is the view of Blackburn owner Anuradha Desai, who agreed to a severance package with Williams after the long-serving chairman handed in his resignation on Friday, ending his 14-year tenure at the Lancashire club.

Desai, chairperson of owners Venky’s Group, believes Williams’ commitment to the club began to wane following the axing of popular manager Allardyce in December.

Williams is believed to have been dismayed by the treatment meted out to Allardyce and considered resigning in the aftermath.

But Desai convinced the club great to stay on board, and said she and her family still would have preferred Williams to remain at Blackburn.

“John has gone. It is something we have been talking to him about and he felt that he could not continue,” Desai told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“It is disappointing for us but we have agreed a settlement with him.”

“I think that after Sam left, John lost a lot of interest in the club. After that happened I think he knew that he wanted to move on.”

“I know that he did not get along with Steve (Kean) and he had struggled to accept Jerome (Anderson)’s role at the club.”

Anderson is the boss of sports agency Sport Entertainment and Media Group (SEM), and has been advising the Desai family since Venky’s bought out the club in November.

He has been mooted as a possible replacement for Williams, but Desai said the club would look elsewhere for a new chairman.

“Jerome has helped us but I want to be very clear that he does not run the club,” Desai said.

“We will be working with anybody and any agents to make this club successful but we are not controlled by his company. His role will now diminish.”