Steve Waggott’s seven years as Blackburn Rovers’ chief executive have abruptly ended after he released a two-sentence statement.
In addition to this week’s decision to pull their women’s team from Super League 2 due to financial obligations, Waggott has been under pressure at Ewood Park after Jon Dahl Tomasson and John Eustace left their positions as managers within the last 12 months.
Support organizations urged the leadership not to attend the season’s final games after he acknowledged last month that it was “a difficult moment” for him and other senior officials.
“It has been agreed that Steve Waggott will be leaving Blackburn Rovers,” Blackburn said as he left. We wish Steve luck in his future endeavors and would want to thank him for his efforts over the last seven years.
After returning to the Championship for seven seasons, Blackburn has three times ended barely outside the playoffs. Before leaving for a clash with Derby County at the opposite end of the division, Eustace had them on track for a top six challenge this time around after rescuing them from a relegation battle the previous season. Under new manager Valerien Ismael, the team’s form first faltered before settling to finish seventh with 66 points.
Despite the dissatisfaction of supporters, the club’s owners, Venky’s, who are based in India, do not appear interested in selling. Waggott’s departure has been unexpected, despite rumors that he was thinking about retiring.
“This is a challenging time. I’ve played football for a long time, and I know that behavior and attitude off the field can be influenced by what happens on the field,” Waggott said in an April interview with Radio Lancashire. “I understand the dissatisfaction when we have a slump in performance because all other questions are raised when you have a poor run of games. Did we make enough investments in the team? What is being run by whom? Is he a suitable head coach?
It is mostly decided by what happens on the field. Fans are somewhat satisfied when you are in good form, but it gets challenging when you are in poor form. Maintaining the alignment between the owners, board, executives, players, and supporters—which I believe is crucial for a successful football team—is challenging.
“My door has been very open to the fans for the seven and a half years that I have been at the club,” he continued. I participate in every fan forum, the Supporters Trust, We Are The Rovers, as well as independent organizations, away travel groups, and individuals who send emails with helpful critiques. I bring them in and talk to the club about a few things.
Waggott, who had previously worked at Charlton, Coventry, and Gillingham, was instrumental in getting Mark Robins hired as manager of Coventry in 2012, but he had left by the time Robins returned for a lengthy stint in 2017. “All in all, it is keeping that alignment in trying to keep everybody on the same page if it is possible. But at this moment in time, it is wobbling and it is up to me as chief executive of the club, with protest groups and other things, to get around the table to try and iron out the issues we are currently facing.”
READ MORE: Sportchannel.co.uk
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