Jon Dahl Tomasson will arrive in the Championship this season as an unknown quantity, hoping to build on the solid foundations laid by Tony Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers.

The former Premier League champions flirted in and around the promotion picture for the vast majority of the last campaign, but a barren run in front of goal saw them fall away in the final couple of months.

With a lot of key players from last season no longer present at Ewood Park, patience may be required in Tomasson's methods.

Danny Murphy explained his stance on the appointment when he spoke to SpilXperten.

He said: "Jon Dahl Tomasson must be a brave man to come and manage in the Championship - I hope gets the support from the club and the fans.

"I hope he gets the time, the support, and the freedom to implement his ideas.

"I also hope the fans get behind him.

"It is a tough job."

"The problem in the Championship is you can have a good month where you play well, eight games, and all of sudden you are in the play-off spot.

"At the same time, you can have a bad month and before you know it you are mid-table and six points off it.

"One month you can be the best manager in the division, and in the next one, you are gone.

"That is the amazing rollercoaster ride of the Championship.

"He must be a brave man because anyone coming into the Championship to manage, you have got to have thick skin.

"You are going to have a tough ride.

"But I wish him well."

It feels like 2022/23 is going to be a lot more difficult for Rovers, and realistic expectations should be set, given the quality of the squad and the chance that further key players move on.

The Verdict

 

 

Not many people expected Ben Brereton Diaz to hit the heights that he did in 2021/22 and the Chilean will be on the radar of many this summer, with just one year remaining on his deal at Blackburn.

Reda Khadra and Jan Paul van Hecke were both very important players on loan at Ewood Park last season, and with that in mind it will be crucial that Rovers utilise the loan market equally as effectively heading into 2022/23.

Mowbray was a very flexible tactician in his time at Blackburn with so much experience in the EFL, and it is going to be very interesting to see how Tomasson's methods, having most recently managed Malmo, correlate to second tier level.