Blackurn manager Tony Mowbray has claimed he will not be 'booed out of the club' after a number of fans vented their frustrations at the Rovers boss during their side's 3-2 win over Barnsley on Saturday.

Twice during the game Rovers were pegged back by the division's bottom side, with the Tykes' second equaliser, and the chances to take the lead they had after that point, met with boos and chants of 'Mowbray sort it out' from the Ewood Park crowd.

That is something that did not go unnoticed by the Rovers boss, who, when asked about those murmurings of discontent from the home crowd after the win, was quoted by the Lancashire Telegraph as saying: “In my three years I’ve never questioned the players’ desire, their work rate, their effort.

“I felt, as a manager you shouldn’t criticise fans, but I felt the team needed support, not anxiety."

Following that win over Barnsley - just their second in nine games, but also their second in their last two home matches - Rovers are now 17th in the Championship table, and discussing why he feels there may be that frustration from the crowd, Mowbray continued: “I built the expectation this year that I wanted to get to the top six and push on.

“The fact we’re falling short, maybe that’s where it came from. They deserve support, I think they’re giving everything they’ve got every week."

Despite the relief of eventually securing that win over Barnsley thanks to a late strike from Bradley Dack, it seems Mowbray does not expect the nerves to lift around the club, as when asked if he thought the victory would do that, he admitted: “I doubt it.

“We have another game on Wednesday night and have to beat Brentford. That’s football, we keep going. It’s a relentless season.” 

The Rovers boss also reiterated his claims from last week that he will walk from the club if he feels it is the right thing to do, but that for now, he feels that is not the case, as he continued: “I came here to Blackburn Rovers, because I love football, and this is a historic club and I won’t be a burden on the club.

“If it isn’t going well, I don’t need to get booed out, I’m a proud working-class man from the north-east and I’ve put a lot into the job.

“I’ve talked a lot about family and living away from them and what you give to a team by doing that and I think that’s why I still see a team that are still fighting until the final whistle, because they know that their gaffer is giving them everything he’s got.” 

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The Verdict

Unfortunately, I feel this could be a risky thing for Mowbray to say.

While I completely agree with him that the venting of frustrations from the crowd is not going to help the players, that is something they are entitled to do, and there were certainly times on Saturday when you could understand that exasperation.

You also feel that these claims from Mowbray are not going to go unnoticed by members of the Rovers fanbase, who may well take this as something of a criticism of them, which may make it harder for the Blackburn boss to win some of them back round.

That is something that, as a consequence, could hinder the atmosphere even more around Ewood Park, making results even harder to come by for the players, and Mowbray's job even harder to hold on to.