HENNING Berg says he takes no satisfaction from his £2.25m pay-out for only 57 days’ work as Blackburn Rovers manager – insisting he would prefer to still be in the top job at Ewood Park.

Speaking exclusively to the Lancashire Telegraph Berg spoke of his frustration and shock at being sacked as Rovers boss after only 10 games in charge.

The battle over his settlement then went to a high-profile court case. Berg won the case and Rovers were ordered to pay up the Norwegian’s full two-and-a-half-year contract – totalling £2.25m before tax deductions.

The club’s lawyers had unsuccessfully argued that Rovers should not have to pay the full amount – claiming managing director Derek Shaw had been acting without the owners’ authority when he handed Berg the contract. Venky’s had wanted the deal to contain only a 12-month notice period.

Berg said he was baffled by Rovers’ defence in court.

“I was surprised by that,” he said. “The contract was clear cut and some of the things they were saying that they did not have the authority, that was a strange one.

“When they have to pay you for two-and-a-half years, particularly when you have only been manager for two months, then of course it does look like a lot of money.

“But I would much rather have still been working as manager than have received that money.”

Berg – formerly manager of Lyn and Lillestrom in his native Norway – was unveiled as Rovers boss on November 1, after a search lasting more than a month following the departure of Steve Kean.

But Berg was dismissed after only 57 days in charge – the shortest reign of any manager in the club’s history – having won one, drawn three and lost six of his 10 games at the helm.

Rovers had slipped from fifth in the Championship table to 17th, eight points off the play-off places.

Berg added: “If you hire someone you do it for a reason, so to be fired after two months was really surprising.

“You can say, ‘Okay, you weren’t given a chance, it wasn’t your fault’. But at the same time I was not happy, because I felt I could have made a difference.

“You might say that’s football, but that is not football. Everyone in football understands that 10 games is not enough.

“I am realistic, I went into it with my eyes open about what had happened previously at the club. I had already made some comments about it.

“I knew I was taking a risk but after working for seven years in Norway at two clubs, when you get the chance to manage Blackburn, a club where I had success as a player, it is difficult to say no.

“I wasn’t fired for football reasons. I was fired for other reasons, otherwise I would still be there.

“I don’t want to go into those reasons but those things are well documented, the differences that exist at the club.”

Berg’s dismissal saw managing director Derek Shaw and operations director Paul Agnew fly to India to voice their concerns about the role of Shebby Singh at the club, amid a breakdown in relations with the Malaysian.

It was Singh who advised Venky’s that Berg should be sacked, although the Norwegian did not talk specifically about the club’s global advisor.

But Berg insists that he could have still guided Rovers into the play-offs.

Rovers eventually finished 17th, as successor Michael Appleton was sacked after only 67 days.

But Berg points to the fact that Bolton, who appointed Dougie Freedman a week before his own arrival at Ewood, nearly made the top six after a difficult start.

“I know we had dropped down the league but in terms of points we were not far away from the play-offs,” Berg said. “I still think we could have made the play-offs.

“You look at Dougie Freedman at Bolton, they really struggled for a long time but then they turned it around and only just missed out on the play-offs.

“The expectation at the start of the season was that Blackburn had good players and they would win the league. But when you end up nearly getting relegated, then the squad is obviously not as good as people thought.

“The squad was imbalanced and we were planning to make adjustments to it in January, but I was never given the opportunity.

“In most of the games we had more chances than the opposition. They were small margins and we had plans to make adjustments in January. It would have turned those draws and defeats into wins.”

  • Rovers will avoid a court case over the £500,000 due to Appleton for his dismissal in March, after an agreement was reached with their former boss.

Read part two of this interview in tomorrow's LT