Newcastle manager Alan Pardew admits he has "great sympathy" for under-fire Blackburn counterpart Steve Kean.
Lennon believes treatment from Rovers fans has not been fair
Alan Pardew is the latest Premier League manager to come out in support of Steve Kean, insisting he has "great sympathy" for the under-fire Blackburn boss.
Rovers fans let their feelings be known after Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to fellow strugglers Bolton, subjecting the Scotsman to a torrent of abuse.
That result means Blackburn will be bottom at Christmas - only West Brom have managed to avoid relegation after finding themselves in the same position back in the 2004/05 season.
But Newcastle manager Pardew feels Kean, who he worked with at Reading, does not deserve to be on the wrong end of such "vicious" attacks.
"If they want to carry on like they are doing, all they are going to do is harm their own team. I can't see the logic in that," he said.
"It's a sign of the game. I don't know whether 20, 30 years ago, it would have been quite as vicious to Steve Kean.
"I know him well - he's a personal friend of mine - so I have great sympathy for the position he is in.
"There are a lot of factors in why he's receiving that. I don't go along with it and I don't think any member of the LMA (League Managers' Association) would go along with it in their right mind.
"He's trying to do the best job he can do. He has been given the job to do and that's what he is trying to do.
"He should be left alone to do that and it will be beneficial to the team if the fans take that view."
Tough environment
Everton boss David Moyes, who was at Blackburn's match against Bolton, said he was "disgusted" by the level of abuse aimed at Kean, while Tottenham's Harry Redknapp described it as "horrific".
Celtic counterpart Neil Lennon, who also knows Kean, admits he would "hate" to have to work in such an environment.
He said: "For me, it seems like he has never had the chance to do his job properly. For whatever reason, the support have never taken to him.
"Even when they were winning games like the other week, there was no pleasing supporters then.
"I know Steve from being on a few coaching courses and I know his assistant Iain Brunskill, who was with me on the Pro Licence.
"They are good football guys. At the end of the day it is a results-driven business and I just hope they start picking up positive results because there is a danger they could get detached from the rest of the clubs there.
"But in terms of the treatment, it's not on, it's not fair and I would hate to work in an environment like that."
