BLACKBURN ROVERS COLUMN: Last chance saloon for Kean to get this right (From Lancashire Telegraph)

BLACKBURN ROVERS COLUMN: Last chance saloon for Kean to get this right

2:00pm Thursday 16th August 2012 in News By Andy Cryer , Blackburn Rovers reporter

ANYONE who was at the open meeting between supporters and Shebby Singh on Saturday morning and thought it ‘went well’ was surely in the wrong place.

Singh has made a good impression since coming in as global advisor but on Saturday he made his first big ‘gaffe’.

It was far from his finest hour.

I have no problems with setting Steve Kean targets – after all he is the luckiest man to be in a job as it is – but the personal comments about both the Scot and Morten Gamst Pedersen were completely out of order.

Shebby is adamant his comments about Pedersen were misinter-preted and that he wasn’t describing the Norwegian when he mentioned the word ‘pensioner’. He also insists his off-the-cuff personal comments about Kean were said in ‘jest’ and that he is deeply sorry for any hurt caused.

I believe him. I don’t believe he meant any harm but that does not take the away the fact that he should not have said what he said.

His efforts of trying to appease the supporters went too far, far too far.

Some of Rovers’ squad are rightly upset about the Pedersen comm-ents.

Singh has apologised though and we now have to move on.

After all the talk, the posturing and the bold promises, the moment of truth is finally upon us.

Blackburn Rovers fans have had to put up with another eventful summer off the field, as boardroom and management issues at Ewood Park continued to over take the football.

Singh’s explosive comments over the weekend were far from perfect timing – or well advised – but, despite his warnings, Kean has had things the way he wanted this summer.

The under fire manager somehow managed to save his job in crisis talks in India earlier this summer and since then has been backed to the hilt, financially at least, to bring together a squad he wants.

The majority of the squad are now behind him, although there is a dissenter or two left out in the cold, and there are simply no excuses now not to deliver.

Kean has already signed eight players this summer and, having been promised a team the Championship should be frightened of, the fans will rightly expect nothing but promotion.

Anything else but a return to the Premier League will be deemed a failure and, with big wages being paid to players on long contracts, not returning to the top flight could well prove expensive.

Rovers have made some good signings over the past few months, along with a few that have raised eyebrows and left us all unsure about what is to follow.

Singh’s pledge that Kean would be sacked if Rovers lost three games in a row was an unwise thing to do in front a room of supporters but I don’t disagree.

Surely Kean has been given too many chances already, but things like this are better said behind closed doors.

This has to be last chance saloon for the man still looking to prove he can cut it as a manager. He knows it, the fans know it and you just hope Venky’s know it.

Rovers’ Championship kick-off at Ipswich on Saturday is supposed to be a new dawn. We have heard it all too often and it will need to be seen to be believed.