Blackburn Rovers may be worried about repeat of Jon Dahl Tomasson saga with John Eustace | OneFootball

John Eustace needs more support in the transfer market or Blackburn risk losing him.

Blackburn Rovers fans will have been impressed with the work John Eustace has done since taking charge last February, but with what goes on behind the scenes at boardroom level, you can never be too sure of what is going to happen next at Ewood Park.

After successfully steering the club to safety in the 2023-24 season, Eustace faced a tough challenge during the summer when he lost his star player, Sammie Szmodics, who joined Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town.

Despite this, he has taken large strides with the Lancashire outfit this campaign, who are sitting just outside the play-offs with 42 points from their opening 29 games.

With just over a third of the season remaining, supporters will be hoping to see their side break into the top six.

However, once again, the club's transfer activity has done little to raise optimism, with a number of financially safe moves only adding more pressure on the shoulders of Rovers' head coach.

This could force a repeat of the Jon Dahl Tomasson situation, which ultimately saw the former head coach depart due to a lack of leadership above him.

Blackburn fans will remember very vividly that in January 2023, a deadline day swoop for Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O'Brien fell through due to a late submission of paperwork, drawing the ire of Rovers supporters who slammed the powers-that-be.

Lightning would strike twice 12 months later, as when Rovers thought they had USA striker Duncan McGuire in the bag from Orlando City, an administrative error from the Blackburn side saw the deal not make it to the EFL in time, which was one of the reasons as to why it was the final straw for Tomasson.

John Eustace has been let down by Steve Waggot and Co.

Having accrued £9 million plus add-ons for Szmodics in late August and £18 million for Adam Wharton last winter, many Blackburn fans would have expected purchases to be made this January in order to boost hopes of a top six finish.

Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case, with the only signings involving fees coming during the summer, when the deadline day arrivals of Todd Cantwell and Balazs Toth - who is still yet to play a league game - were made.

In truth, the winter additions that have been made are underwhelming too. Adam Forshaw joined following the termination of his contract at Plymouth Argyle and Dion Sanderson signed on loan from League One, Birmingham City, for whom he had made just two league appearances this season.

These moves seem to be aimed at covering the gaps left by injuries to key players like Lewis Travis, Harry Pickering and Sondre Tronstad. However, neither Forshaw nor Sanderson on paper look to be signings ready-made for a Championship play-off push.

The lack of ambition shown by Steve Waggott (Blackburn's CEO) and former striker turned director of football Rudy Gestede - as well as the Indian owners the Venky's - has to be concerning for Eustace, and if he doesn't sign adequate players in the final week of the window, Blackburn could once again throw away a promising position.

While a statement from Waggott last week may offer some hope of new additions, nothing is guaranteed. If the club continues to sign players of similar calibre to those brought in during the winter window, concerns about their play-off aspirations will only grow.

Blackburn fans will fear Jon Dahl Tomasson repeat coming with John Eustace

Prior to Eustace, Blackburn experienced very similar situations with Tomasson, who also had aspirations of the play-offs but ultimately missed out.

The Dane experienced cuts to the playing budget in the summer of 2023 and even offered to leave the club in order to provide them with more money.

Eventually, he departed by mutual consent in February of last year after more transfer woes, as well as little money being handed to him after the sale of Adam Wharton to Crystal Palace, and the now-Sweden boss left with a very potent message in his final interview.

Asked if Rovers were in a crisis, he said: "It's a very serious situation."

"But nothing has changed, it was also very serious in the summer when suddenly there was a hand grenade that changed everything with the cutting of the budget.

"That's probably why [chief executive] Steve Waggott said [the job] first and foremost this season (2023/24) is to stay in the league. I'm a little more ambitious."

If this financial affair continues with Eustace, he may take a similar stance to the Dane. He has to demand more from those above him and if they don't provide him with the necessary tools, he can take very little of the blame.

Blackburn have one key piece of the puzzle in Eustace – a talented head coach who has the ability to guide them forward. If the club can match his leadership with greater ambition in the transfer market, the pieces should fall into place as they push for a coveted top-six finish.