Blackburn Rovers have endured something of a tough time of things since their change in head coach.
Early last month, the club acted swiftly to appoint John Eustace to take charge at Ewood Park, following the departure of Jon Dahl Tomasson.
Since then though, things have not exactly worked out for the 44-year-old. In his eight official games in charge so far, he is yet to pick up a win.
As a result, he is yet to get Blackburn Rovers out of the relegation battle they are in. Currently, the club sit 18th in the Championship table, three points clear of the relegation zone.
But despite that slow start, there is a belief among some observers, that Eustace still needs to be given more time to turn things around at Ewood Park.
‘Mitigation’ offered in John Eustace assessment
While results not coming on the pitch, some of Eustace’s comments not going down well with parts of the fanbase either.
That has led to calls from supporters, for the 44-year-old to be relieved of his duties at Ewood Park already.
However, the Lancashire Telegraph’s Blackburn Rovers reporter, Elliott Jackson, believes Eustace should be given more of a chance to make his mark, given some of the challenges he has had to deal with.
Speaking about Eustace on the Arte Et Labore podcast, the reporter said:
“It’s not been good enough and he has got to be the one to change it. I’m just trying to offer a bit of mitigation in that maybe he can fix it. I feel like a lot of people are maybe writing John Eustace off already. He’s not got everything right.
“I think some of the balance of the tone and the messaging hasn’t been right in the media. But he hasn’t had a free week on the training ground and it’s unfair to convict him when he’s not had a fair jury, and he’s not had a free week on the training ground yet.”
Next up for Eustace and his Blackburn Rovers side, is a trip to The Riverside Stadium to face Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon.
Blackburn Rovers must keep faith with John Eustace
It would likely make little sense for Eustace to be dismissed from his role at Ewood Park just yet.
Admttedly, performances and results have yet to really get going since he took over the club.
However, there have been signs of promise, not least in the FA Cup clash with Newcastle United.
Meanwhile, it could also be argued that while they are not winning, Blackburn Rovers are also not losing as much as they were in the final days of Tomasson’s reign so far.
Six of Eustace’s eight games in charge have ended as draws after 90 minutes. That feels like some progress from where they had been immediately before his appointment, so there may be something to build on if they stick with him.
That is also backed up by the relative success that Eustace had enjoyed at Birmingham City, before being sacked by the Blues back in October.
Meanwhile, this week is the first time since he was appointed, that Eustace has not had to deal with a midweek match at Blackburn Rovers.
This should therefore give him time to really work with his squad on the training pitch, and set them up in a way he really wants.
It will therefore be interesting to see what impact that has come the Middlesbrough game on Saturday.
With that in mind as well, there is some reason to believe he could still be a success with Blackburn Rovers, if he is given enough of a chance.