It was truly The Nightmare Before Christmas for Steve Kean and his Blackburn side as they slumped to their seventh home defeat of the season on Tuesday night. Kean is under intense scrutiny and pressure like never before and his torrid year in charge of the club is now surely coming to an end. Throughout the defeat to Bolton he was subject to angry protests from disgruntled supporters who are clearly furious with their side's poor performances. The Scot's odds have now been cut even shoter to just 1/4 in the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked Betting.
Rovers got off to the worse start in their relegation clash with Bolton at Ewood Park when they leaked in a goal after just five minutes. On the half hour mark the away side doubled their lead, much to the anger of Rovers fans who made sure to let Kean know just what they thought. Despite an improved display in the second half Rovers could only grab the one goal back and thus fell to their eleventh loss of the season. The demoralising defeat leaves them at the foot of the table – and they will be all too aware that only one club (West Brom in 2005) has survived being bottom at Christmas.
The fans have also been extremely critical of the owners, Venkys, who have continued to give Kean their full support. The facts, however, are unavoidable. Blackburn have only won two of their 17 league games this season and in total Kean has won just seven league games since he was appointed a year ago. These are appalling statistics and if their woeful run continues they will definitely be relegated come the end of the season. The hostile atmosphere at Ewood Park is having a negative effect on the team's performances and it is now clear that Kean must be axed or walk for the benefit of the team.
Kean is adamant that he will still be the Blackburn boss on Boxing Day when his side face the daunting task of travelling to in-form Liverpool. Liverpool are the odds-on 2/7 favourites with Stan James, while Rovers have long odds of 12/1 to win their first away match of the season. Meanwhile a draw can be found at 4/1.
Odds courtesy of Stan James.
