OH how the worm has turned.

It wasn't that long ago that Daily Mirror columnist Oliver Holt revealed that part of the reason former Rovers boss Paul Ince was being criticised was because of the colour if his skin.

And lo and behold, he almost gave himself whiplash with his dramatic u-turn stating: "I do not believe Paul Ince was sacked as manager of Blackburn Rovers because he is of mixed race." Eh?

It's the kind of corny reversal you'd find his mum doing in Corrie.

The only person that brought race into this debate was Emily Bishop's off-spring and now he's saying race wasn't an issue???

Now he's shifted the blame from people who criticised Ince potentially being motivated by racism to English football's failure to develop black coaches.

Make your mind up Mr Holt!

That fact of the matter was, under Ince's regime, Rovers were sinking fast. Three wins from 17 league games left Rovers sat second bottom of the Premier League.

That, and that alone, was the reason Ince was sacked. With the crucial January transfer window fast approaching, Rovers decided to change the manager.

Ince was always a gamble. He's not been a manager long and only managed in League Two.

You could argue that Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman had more experience than Ince - he just didn't have a high-profile playing career to go with it.

It's sad that Ince wasn't given the time to impress at Ewood. I hope he does make it because he seems like a decent bloke, but anyone who saw his intervIew after the 3-0 mauling at Wigan could see in his eyes that he'd almost accepted his fate.

But that's football. If you don't get results you don't succeed whether you’re white, black, orange or purple. That is the only fact that matters.

The people who read my first blog were livid that Mr Holt had dared to even consider that their criticism of Ince could be motivated by racism.

But it’s easy to do when you don’t have to face the music. He can say what he wants because I don’t imagine he ventures up this way very often.

I live in the area, and on more than once occasion I have been called to defend something I’ve written - and I’m happy to do so. It come with the territory as a local journalist and I accept it.

But for Mr Holt to cheapen himself and this debate by playing the race card does himself and the game a huge dis-service.

I’m a fan of Mr Holt’s work - but, in my mind, this is hackery of the lowest order.