Blackburn has been an interesting club to watch ever since Venkey’s, an Indian based global chicken company, took over in November 2010. They set the soap opera in motion by sacking Sam Allardyce and appointing Steve Kean, his number two at the time and someone who was new to management. What a baptism of fire it has turned out to be and not just for Kean. Venkey’s certainly seem wet behind the ears when it comes to football and would no doubt have been shocked to see the full financial workings of a Premiership team. They posted a pre-tax loss of £18.6 million in June 2011 and it appears they have been trying to make the club self sufficient while staying in the premiership at the same time.

They have offloaded several of their top players including Kalinic (admittedly not a massive success at Rovers), Nelsen, Roberts, Samba and Phil Jones – what a centre back pairing to lose! Kean has worked hard shopping in the bargin basement of the Premiership bringing in Yakubu up front and the underrated Scott Dann at centre back. However despite Venkey’s lack of ambition and previous football knowledge it appears from the outside that the majority of the fans blame Kean. Whether they have accepted the financial plight of the club or feel they cannot get the owners out, their venom has mainly been aimed at the inexperienced Kean.

The Secret Footballer in the Guardian wrote a very interesting piece regarding why you should never promote the incumbent number 2. And the words certainly seem to ring true with Kean. He has at times during interviews seemed out of his depth and understandably the Rovers fans were not too happy, first with the sacking of Allardyce and then with the appointment of Kean. Yet they have taken their protests beyond the usual ‘Kean out’ chants having banners flown over the stadium and staging mass protests after the game. They’ve taken things so far that other football fans have started to take the side of Kean and are willing him on to keep them up and keep his job. Venkey’s to their credit have ignored the overtures by the fans and even rewarded Kean with a new contract despite them being bottom at the time – I told you they were new to football! But I have a feeling that the sentiment of support due to the fans actions has spread further and in a way that the fans never expected. Seeing a man so under siege, subjected to such hatred and to some extent unjustified attacks has actually helped Kean perform his job better.

A siege mentality can be a great way of bringing players and a team together as a whole. Just ask Sir Alex and Mourinho who are experts at the ‘everyone hates us’ mentality – even Arsene Wenger uses it when people criticise his squad and acquisitions. This siege mentality has brought the players together and, witnessing the vision of Kean carry on despite overwhelming opposition from his own, you can understand why. Who wouldn’t want to play for a man who has kept such dignity in the face of adversity. So well done Blackburn fans, you’ve managed to look bad to your football fan peers and keep the manager you hate in a job.

John Lamb (Huddersfield Town Fan)

John Lamb normally writes for  http://teampannier.blogspot.com