Boss of Portsmouth relegation rival makes appeal to fans as he asks for help
A section of Blackburn Rovers’ support has been staying away in protest to the way the club is being run by owners Venky’s London Limited.
New Blackburn Rovers boss Michael O’Neill has issued a rallying cry to supporters ahead of their Championship run-in.
The Northern Irishman has made a passionate appeal to stay-away fans, who are disgruntled with the club’s owners, to get back to Ewood Park in order to bolster their surival bid.
He firmly believes the Rovers fanbase has a major role to play in their battle against the drop, and has called on those who have been boycotting games in recent times to return and lend their support for a crucial stage in the campaign.
O’Neill, who was named as Valerien Ismael’s successor last week and steered Blackburn to a 3-1 victory at QPR in his first game in charge, will be in the Ewood Park dugout for the first time on Friday night.
That will see the Lancashire outfit go head-to-head with local rivals Preston North End in a game that will have a huge bearing on both ends of the Championship table.
And keen to have a strong backing get behind his troops for that game and others that will follow - including Pompey’s important match at Ewood on Saturday, March 7 - O’Neill wants to see greater occupancy on the stands.
Speaking ahead of the derby, the 56-year-old, who will continue his role as Northern Ireland manager until the end of the season told the Lancashire Telegraph: ‘Well, look, we want as many people here as possible,
‘You know, I can't really comment on the rationale or the reasons behind that (the boycotts). I'm not here long enough to understand fully what that is, but I know one thing: a team that's well-supported at home generally does well.
‘The more we can get here, the more passionate the support is behind the team can only help the team.
‘I have obviously looked at that (home form) and I was at the game here against Sheffield Wednesday as well recently.
‘We have to focus on the performance on the pitch. It's difficult to control for the players and what's going on around outside it.
‘I think fans will always back their team if they see them give everything and that's what the message to the players will be. Give us what you gave and more in terms of the game on Saturday and I've no doubt the crowd will get behind us.’
Blackburn’s battle against relegation
Blackburn currently sit 20th in the Championship table on 35 points - three points above the relegation zone and a point below 19th-placed Pompey, who have played a game less.
Rovers’ win at QPR last Saturday was just their second league victory since before Christmas.
That form has dragged them firmly into the relegation mix, as has their results on home soil, with just three wins from 16 outings recorded at Ewood Park this season.
Another reason why O’Neill will want more fans back through the turnstiles - Blackburn have thee third lowest average home attendance in the Championship (13,535). Only Oxford United (11,070) and Wrexham (10,615) have a lower mean figure.
Pompey, who came from behind to beat Rovers 2-1 in December, have an average home crowd of 20,209, which places them 15th in the latest attendance table.