The man who initially brought Mark Robins to Coventry City, Steve Waggott, has resigned as CEO of Blackburn Rovers.
After seven years in command at Ewood Park, the former Sky Blues manager leaves with a two-sentence statement from his previous employers.
The 70-year-old was under pressure when John Eustace and Jon Dahl Tomasson left their positions as managers within a year, as well as this week’s decision to pull their women’s team from Super League 2 because of financial obligations.
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,” he says in the briefest of notices on the club website before departing. We wish Steve luck in his future endeavors and would want to thank him for his efforts over the last seven years. From 2011 to 2015, Waggott played for City for four years, during which time the team traveled to Northampton to play first team games.
He departed the squad one point off the top of League One, having appointed Tony Mowbray. Additionally, in 2012, he welcomed Robins to the Sky Blues, however Robins left after only five months. When the legendary manager came back in March 2017, Waggott was collaborating with Gillingham.
Regarding Rovers, Blackburn has returned to the Championship for seven seasons and has three times ended just outside the playoffs. Before leaving for a clash with Derby County at the other end of the division, Eustace, a former City player, helped them escape a relegation battle last season and put them on track to push for the top six this time. 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.
Overall, it’s about maintaining that alignment and, if at all feasible, striving to keep everyone in agreement. However, it is currently in a state of instability, and as the club’s CEO, it is my responsibility to work with protest organizations and other entities to try to resolve the problems we are currently facing.
READ MORE: Sportchannel.co.uk
Leave a Reply