Indian owners promise Blackburn overhaul
Reuters - Friday 11 May 2012, 04:28
Blackburn Rovers will
instigate a number of changes in the coming months as they plan
to fight their way back into the Premier League at the first
attempt, the club's unpopular Indian owners Venky's said.
Since the Indian poultry giant's $37 million takeover in
November 2010, the club have struggled on the pitch, leading to
regular fan protests as the 1995 Premier League champions failed
to stave off the drop to the Championship.
Blackburn's relegation was confirmed with a 1-0 home defeat
by Wigan Athletic on Monday but B Balaji Rao, a director and
member of the family that owns Venky's, is confident the club
will quickly return to the elite group.
"We were certainly not expecting to be relegated. It was the
saddest bit of news for me since my mother passed away," Rao
told Friday's Times of India newspaper.
"But we will bounce back within a year. There will be lots
of changes in the near future. We will bring in changes within
the next month," he said.
"In the last month, we have made the club debt-free."
Rao, however, declined to comment on manager Steve Kean's
future, the newspaper said.
He reiterated the club was not up for sale and said most
players were willing to help lead the club back into the top
flight.
"We cannot hold back players. Those who want to leave may do
so. But let me tell you, 80 percent of the players want to
stay," he said.
"We are here for the long haul. We have absolutely no
intentions of selling the club... our entire family has fallen
in love with the club. We cannot sell it."