The Venky's facing Blackburn Rovers pain amid Derby County, John Eustace exploits | OneFootball

John Eustace's strong start to life at Derby County will only increase the anger of Blackburn Rovers supporters towards the club's ownership.

It has been an incredibly disappointing start to life at Blackburn Rovers for new head coach Valerien Ismael.

After John Eustace made the shock decision to leave play-off hopefuls Blackburn for relegation-threatened Derby County last month, Ismael was appointed as his replacement, with the 49-year-old signing a three-and-half-year contract at Ewood Park.

Ismael's reign got off to a positive start as Andreas Weimann scored a 96th-minute equaliser to salvage a point in the 1-1 draw with Norwich City in his first game in charge, but it has all gone rapidly downhill from there.

Rovers suffered their third consecutive defeat under Ismael as they were beaten 2-1 at home by struggling Cardiff City on Saturday, with goals from Yousef Salech and Yakou Meite either side of Yuki Ohashi's leveller sealing all three points for the Bluebirds.

As their promotion hopes continue to fade, Blackburn are now ninth in the Championship table, five points from the play-off places, and it does not get much easier for the Lancashire outfit with a trip to Portsmouth to come after the international break.

Bold Valerien Ismael call already looks like a big Blackburn Rovers mistake

A host of names were linked with the Blackburn vacancy after Eustace's departure, including the likes of Aitor Karanka, Carlos Carvalhal, Raphael Wicky, Richie Wellens, George Boateng, Luis Boa Morte, Pep Ljinders and David Wagner, and it is fair to say that eyebrows were raised when the club chose Ismael.

Ismael did an outstanding job in his first managerial role in English football at Barnsley, leading the Tykes to the Championship play-offs in the 2020-21 season after inheriting them sitting just outside the relegation zone, but his subsequent posts have been far less successful.

The Frenchman was rewarded for his impressive work at Oakwell with a move to West Bromwich Albion in June 2021, but he was sacked just over seven months later after the Baggies dropped out of the top six.

A brief seven-month spell at Turkish side Besiktas followed before Ismael took over at Watford in the summer of 2023, but despite being handed a surprise new contract early in his tenure, he was dismissed in March 2024 after winning just 12 of his 40 games in charge.

With that context in mind, it is easy to see why Rovers supporters were unconvinced by the appointment of Ismael, and the underwhelming start to his reign has done little to silence the doubters.

If Blackburn's results have been poor in recent weeks, the performances have given an increasingly restless fan base even fewer reasons to be optimistic, and given that style of play was one of the main frustrations West Brom and Watford supporters had with Ismael, the Ewood Park faithful could be set for a similar experience.

In fairness to Ismael, Rovers' form had been in decline before his arrival, and they had lost seven of Eustace's final 11 games in charge, but as they continue to drift further away from the play-off places, discontent against the ownership is growing.

Derby County, Blackburn Rovers contrast will be a concern for the Venky's

Eustace's decision to swap a promotion push for a relegation battle was widely questioned, and after the 45-year-old lost his first three games in charge of Derby, it looked as though he had made a big mistake.

However, the Rams picked up their first win under Eustace's guidance with a 2-1 victory against Blackburn earlier this month, and they have followed that up with further maximums against Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle.

Derby are still in the relegation zone, but they are now only one point from safety, and given the remarkable impact Eustace has made in recent weeks, it seems like a matter of time before they escape the bottom three.

It is no surprise to Eustace inspire such a turnaround at his new club, as he did similarly at Ewood Park last season to prevent Rovers from dropping into League One, but his success with the Rams will only further infuriate those who blamed the Venky's for his departure.

Eustace's is believed to have made the decision to leave Blackburn as he felt he had not been properly supported by the club, and that added more fuel to the fire for supporters who already held long-standing grievances against the ownership.

While it was unlikely that Rovers would have won promotion this season given the strength of the top six, Eustace brought hope to the club that a Premier League return could be possible, but that optimism and feel-good factor has quickly disappeared under Ismael.

Indeed, such is the current discontent at Ewood Park, there has been talk on social media of a potential protest during the next home game against Middlesbrough on 4th April, and that may just be the start of more frequent demonstrations against the Venky's.

In contrast, Derby's survival hopes have been reignited by Eustace, and although it is far from guaranteed that they will still be a Championship club next season, his decision to make the switch to Pride Park is looking more sensible by the day.