Blackburn announce Lambert as new boss
PAUL LAMBERT was last night back in football management after being confirmed the new boss of Blackburn Rovers. The Ewood Park side, currently sitting 16th in the Sky Bet Championship, sacked Gary Bowyer on Tuesday following a run of one win in six league games and quickly identified the former Celtic and Scotland midfielder as their preferred candidate. Talks went smoothly over the weekend and the 46-year-old will be formally unveiled at a media conference today. Lambert will be joined by ex-Rovers player and youthteam coach Alan Irvine, who was named as his assistant. Blackburn’s former head of youth coaching Rob Kelly and goalkeeping coach Laurence Batty will also join the Scot’s backroom team. Lambert, who was sacked by Aston Villa in February, makes his return to the dugout with Rovers only 11 points off the play-offs after 16 games. He told the club’s official website: ‘I would like to thank the owners and board of directors for giving me the opportunity to manage such a fantastic club. ‘Blackburn Rovers is a club with superb support and fine traditions, being a founding member of both the Football League and the Premier League. ‘I bring with me a very trusted backroom team that I believe is equipped to help me create an exciting era for the club. ‘I hope to deliver a brand of football that will both entertain the supporters and bring success.’ A spokesman for Blackburn’s owners Venky’s added: ‘We are extremely happy to have secured a manager with the experience that Paul brings. ‘We are confident that he is the right man to achieve the ambitions we have for the club.’ Lambert’s managerial career began at Livingston in 2005 before a two-year spell at Wycombe Wanderers and a season at Colchester United preceded a spectacular spell at Norwich City where he enjoyed sensational back-toback promotions. This brought him to the attention of Aston Villa in 2012 — where he replaced countryman Alex McLeish — and despite having to field a young team due to limited funds, Lambert guided them to successive 15th-place finishes. However, time was called on his tenure in February following a 2-0 loss to Hull City with the side sitting 18th in the table and in the relegation zone. Lambert recently admitted he had turned down several offers to return to the game because he felt they weren’t right and opted to spend his time around the training grounds of some of Europe’s top clubs. His first match will be a trip to Preston, who sit directly below Blackburn in the table on Saturday.