Tony Mowbray backed by Blackburn owners despite relegation
Monday 8 May 2017 17:25, UK
Blackburn's owners say Tony Mowbray "will continue to have our full support" despite the club's relegation to League One.
Rovers' fate was sealed in Sunday's final round of fixtures despite victory over Brentford taking Mowbray's record to 22 points from 15 games.
A club statement released early on Monday announced the departure of director of football Paul Senior, who conducted the negotiations with Mowbray ahead of his appointment as head coach on an 18-month deal in February.
But a later statement from Indian owners Venky's said Mowbray would get the necessary backing to lead a promotion campaign next season.
The statement read: "The owners of Blackburn Rovers wish to place on record their appreciation for the work of manager Tony Mowbray since his arrival at the club, during which time both the performances of the team and results have improved significantly. Going forward he will continue to have our full support.
"Despite the courageous performance by the players and the victory at Brentford yesterday, results elsewhere led to the relegation of the club from the Championship. This is indeed a very sad situation and we are deeply hurt by these events. We share the same feelings as our supporters.
"Notwithstanding this temporary setback, we are confident that the collective efforts of the team, under Tony's leadership, will enable the club to achieve promotion back to the Championship next season.
"The owners and everyone at the club recognise and appreciate the solid backing of the supporters and thank them for this. We believe that such strong support will set us in good stead for the season ahead.
"We have all witnessed the events of recent years, where teams have been relegated but have turned their clubs around and emerged stronger, and we are determined to see Blackburn Rovers do the same.
"Work has already begun to make this happen and we will be making every effort during the forthcoming season to give ourselves the best chance to achieve this goal."
