Rovers assistant head coach Remy Reijnierse has received his work permit that allowed him to meet up with the squad in Portugal.

Confirmation of Reijnierse’s approval came late on Monday night, with the assistant boss flying out to meet up with the squad and take part in the training sessions on Tuesday.

It was the first time that Reijnierse has been able to work with the players on the training pitches, having been unable to do so until confirmation of his work permit came through.

Head Jon Dahl Tomasson received confirmation of his work permit approval last Wednesday, allowing him to be involved in three training sessions before the 28-man squad flew out to Portugal on Sunday.

Reijnierse wasn’t among the coaching staff to fly out with the team, as he waited on his work permit.

It had been expected to arrive at a similar time to that of Tomasson, though administration procedures meant the extended wait.

There were never any concerns over the work permits for either Tomasson or Reijnierse, given their recent coaching history, but clearance was needed before they could officially start work.

The pair had already met with the playing squad, and held meetings with the staff, but weren’t able to work with the players.

Reijnierse previously worked alongside Tomasson, and performance director Ben Rosen, during their time at Malmo.

They arrive at Ewood Park as a trio alongside Tomasson who has been keen to form a collective with his coaching staff, with the club having retained the services of David Lowe, Damien Johnson and Ben Benson.

Rovers have since added to their coaching ranks with the appointment of Chris Renshaw as assistant first-team goalkeeping/transition coach.

Given the number of Academy prospects in the travelling yyyyy, and due to Reijnierse’s wait for approval, Under-23s boss Mike Sheron was also added to the coaching staff for the week-long trip.

For Tomasson this will be his first taste of coaching in England, but 60-year-old Reijnierse does have experience of the Championship having worked as assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday.

He arrived in 2018 alongside Jos Luhukay, and stayed for two years in all, working with five different managers.

Reijnierse outlined in a recent interview that he had never had ambitions of being a manager, though he has spent time in charge of Netherlands U18s, U20s and U20s teams.

Speaking of Reijnierse’s appointment, director of football Gregg Broughton said: “He (Tomasson) hasn’t been a manager of head coach in the Championship before, I think he’s made a really wise appointment in terms of his assistant manager in Remy who has been an assistant manager with Sheffield Wednesday.”

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