BLACKBURN Rovers have been urged to sort out their boardroom problems – as they consider new additions following the departure of operations director Paul Agnew.

Rovers released a short statement confirming that Agnew had left the club, weeks after the Lancashire Telegraph reported that owners Venky’s were considering changes at boardroom level.

The statement said: “The club would like to announce that Paul Agnew is no longer employed by Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic Plc, and would like to thank Mr Agnew for his service as operations director over the last 11 months.”

The news came while Agnew was in Portugal after travelling to the Algarve with managing director Derek Shaw, who was making the trip for the Football League’s AGM. Agnew was scheduled to remain in the country for a week’s holiday.

The decision also came only seven days after Agnew had been announced as the new chairman of the Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, a position he will also relinquish.

Agnew, chief executive at Preston North End in the early 1990s, had worked in a press and PR capacity for Rovers for 16 years before being appointed as the club’s general manager on June 6, 2012 – a year ago on Thursday.

His role was soon changed to operations director following Shaw’s arrival as managing director three weeks later.

His exit throws fresh uncertainty over the future of Shaw, who has remained in position despite suggestions by the club’s own lawyers that he was operating without the authority of the owners when dealing with former manager Henning Berg’s contract.

Agnew and Shaw have had a difficult working relationship with global advisor Shebby Singh, who flew to India on Tuesday after a two-week break in his homeland of Malaysia.

Venky’s have long been considering bringing in a new board member this summer to lead the decision-making at Ewood Park with an external appointment with football experience the likely option.

Singh could also join the board in some capacity, while a new finance director may be required with Karen Silk currently working her notice.

And Rovers legend Simon Garner believes it is crucial that Venky’s now bring in a strong leadership structure at Ewood Park. He thinks infighting and instability has played a part in the club’s decline.

“It is now or never,” said Garner. “Now is the ideal opportunity to bring someone in.

“They need someone in with that experience who knows how to run a football club.

“They need someone like John Williams now. I’m not saying it should be John Williams but it should be someone like that.

“Paul Agnew and Derek Shaw obviously didn’t see eye to eye with Shebby Singh, and it needed something to happen.”

There had always appeared to be confusion about the hierarchy between Agnew, Shaw and Singh.

Blackburn Rovers FC Action Group secretary Mark Fish said: “I never understood exactly what Paul Agnew did as operations director.

“I don’t know where the role of global advisor fits in either and that needs clarifying.

“The managing director is the main man, the highest ranking director on the board, but where does the global advisor fit in?

“Is he reporting back to the owners or making the decisions? You can’t have the MD making the decisions and then the global advisor overruling him.

“And before that we had a deputy chief executive (Paul Hunt) to no chief executive.

“They have to put a structure in place where people have clearly defined roles.

“That’s why we’ve ended up in the situation we’ve been in, with everything that’s happened.

“They need to bring someone in now with experience of running a football club, not just promoting someone from within.

“I think after what was said in court, if the club stand by what they said, Derek Shaw has to go too.”

Agnew, Shaw and Singh could not be contacted for comment yesterday.