Former QPR and Birmingham City hero set to replace manager

Former QPR assistant manager John Eustace is set to take charge of the Rs Championship relegation rivals Blackburn Rovers as the club part ways with Jon Dahl Tomasson after a tumultuous week for the club.

Sky Sports reports that Eustace is set to be named as the new Blackburn Rovers manager today as Tomasson is in talks to take up a role in charge of the Swedish national side.

The former Birmingham City manager, who racked up 168 appearances for Watford as a player, is available having been sacked by the Blues last October. Eustace had made an impressive start to the campaign with the club sitting in sixth but Birmingham City cited a 'misalignment with the leadership of the club' as they appointed Wayne Rooney in his place.

Rooney has since been sacked, with Tony Mowbray taking over and the club in a fight for Championship survival in 19th place. Eustace worked as assistant manager at QPR under Steve McClaren and had a brief spell as caretaker manager in 2019, helping the club avoid relegation.

The 44-year-old is set to lead Blackburn Rovers as the club looks to avoid getting dragged into a relegation dogfight. Rovers have fallen to just five points above the drop zone after being beaten by Marti Cifuentes' side last weekend.

It's been a tricky couple of weeks for Blackburn Rovers, who have not won in eight league games. Controversy has hung over the club this week after an 'admin error' resulted in the loan-to-buy signing of Duncan McGuire being annulled by the EFL.

A Blackburn Rovers statement read: "Blackburn Rovers has been unsuccessful in its attempts to sign Duncan McGuire on loan from MLS side Orlando City. A deal had been agreed between the two clubs on February 1st for the player to join Rovers on loan until the end of the season, with a view to making the move permanent in the summer.

"Despite all relevant paperwork being completed and uploaded onto the system in good time, the signed registration documents were not submitted prior to the 11 pm deadline. At a meeting held earlier today [Thursday], the EFL Board has upheld the decision of the EFL Executive to reject Rovers’ application to register the USA international.

"Upon comprehensive review of submissions, the EFL Board determined that the upload of documents into a draft application area did not constitute sending documents to the EFL. It also took the decision that it was not prepared to exercise discretion to permit the registration outside of the window, as the EFL Executive had correctly interpreted and applied its Regulations and associated Guidance. The club is disappointed by the outcome, but accepts the decision of the EFL Board.

"Duncan McGuire will now return to Orlando at the earliest opportunity to re-join his club ahead of the start of the 2024 MLS season. "As was previously communicated by the club, Rovers will fly over to the United States over the coming weeks to try to conclude a pre-contract agreement with Orlando City, so that the 23-year forward can officially become a Rovers player in the summer."