"Was no longer there" - Jon Dahl Tomasson drops "difficult" Blackburn Rovers claim after Ewood Park exit | OneFootball

Jon Dahl Tomasson has opened up on his exit from Blackburn Rovers.

The Dane walked away from his role as manager at Ewood Park in February, with John Eustace replacing him in the dugout.

The 47-year-old earned a lot of plaudits during his time with the Lancashire outfit, but his frustrations with the club behind the scenes ultimately led to his departure.

The team struggled in the final weeks of his reign, leading the club to slide down the Championship table.

Tomasson has already found his latest role in management, becoming the first non-Swedish person to take control of their men’s international side.

Tomasson opens up on Blackburn exit

Tomasson has spoken about his departure from Rovers for the first time following his appointment as Sweden boss.

He has clarified why he exited the club, suggesting that circumstances behind the scenes had changed drastically compared to what he originally agreed to.

"It was a difficult situation at Blackburn,” said Tomasson, via Swedish outlet Fotboll Skankalen.

“They were cutting the budget.

“I signed for a project that was no longer there.”

Tomasson was appointed as Blackburn manager in the summer of 2022, guiding the team to a seventh-place finish in his first campaign in charge.

The team missed out on a play-off place due to an inferior goal difference, but struggled to maintain that level of competitiveness in the following term.

Eustace arrived as Tomasson’s replacement, joining the club in the immediate aftermath of the Dane’s exit.

The 44-year-old has overseen one win, three draws and one loss in the league since taking the reins of the first team squad.

Eustace has been tasked with helping the club avoid relegation to League One this season.

Rovers were eliminated from the FA Cup midweek, losing a penalty shootout to Newcastle United after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.

Blackburn Rovers league position

Blackburn’s attention will now turn to their league season, with the team sitting 16th in the table heading into this weekend.

Rovers have not won any of their last four games in the Championship, so will be hoping to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

The Lancashire side faces Swansea City in a 3pm meeting, where a win could see them rise as high as 15th, if results elsewhere also go in their favour.

Meanwhile, Tomasson’s first games in charge of Sweden will come during the international break later this month.

Tomasson’s comments are no surprise

It’s clear that things went wrong behind the scenes at Blackburn and that Tomasson’s exit was a result of that.

The Dane had a contract until the summer, and it seemed inevitable his stint with the club wouldn’t go any further than that.

But the botched signing of Duncan McGuire appeared to be a final straw that led to his departure, particularly the incident that led to him not being allowed to speak to the press.

Eustace has done a solid job replacing him, but a few more positive results are still needed in order to ensure their place in the second division for another year.