THE moment when Connor Mahoney could delay the inevitable no longer, and finally made eye contact with his number on the board to be replaced by the anonymous Craig Conway, could prove a metaphor for Rovers season.

After a slow, pensive start belief started to mount and pulse into brief genuine excitement.

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Then, no sooner had Mahoney firstly nut-megged Scott Golbourne, and then a minute later rolled and ‘skinned’ him, the young winger’s number was up and all went flat.

Gradually at first then downhill faster than an elephant on roller skates. In fact an elephant in football boots would challenge for a place in my starting XI at present.

Sometimes it’s hard for fans not to take it as a personal insult. Over the years we have all watched players who ‘swing the lead’ and can’t understand why the manager continues to select them and pretend all is sweetness and light.

I admire a manager who doesn’t hammer his players in the media, but sometimes it would be nice if they let one fan every week witness a dressing-room dressing-down.

Not that I would volunteer; I could not promise not to splutter incoherent expletive-strewn home-truths.

Some would say that you get what you pay for and that if we could attract better players then we wouldn’t be in this situation whereupon we would attract even better players.

Rovers need to get into the top six to attract top six players. And in this chicken/egg situation we all know which came first.

Since Venky’s allowed Jerome Anderson, Steve Kean and Shebby Singh to join forces and bring the club to its knees we have haemorrhaged status, quality, money, supporters and respect – both self and earned.

If the owners refuse to back either Paul Lambert or whoever is in charge at Ewood come August then we face the bleakest of futures.

Time will not wait for Blackburn Rovers to get its house in order.

If this is not rectified immediately then even visits to Burton Albion will be limited to underdog cup ties.

We’ve already seen one warning go unheeded.