Blackburn are in the Championship play-off spots going into Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Wolves at Ewood Park and Chris Sutton is worried what this could mean for boss John Eustace
Blackburn legend Chris Sutton fears Rovers may struggle to hold on to John Eustace if he continues to upset the odds.
Eustace has confounded expectations Blackburn would struggle again this season after they only survived on the final day of last season and they are riding high in the play-off positions. They face Wolves at Ewood Park on Sunday in the FA Cup and Sutton says Eustace will be attracting much attention.
He claims Blackburn’s owners, Venky’s, must promise him the funds to sustain his success after years of cost cutting. “They’ve surprised me under John Eustace and I think John Eustace is showing what a good manager he is,” the former striker, who was part of Kenny Dalglish’s 1995 Premier League winning side, told Gambling Zone.
“I said at the start of the season, the aim from the top of the club was just to stay in the league. And when you think about that and where they are, John Eustace has overachieved by a stretch.
“The issue they’re going to have is hanging on to John Eustace soon enough because there’ll be people seeing the job he’s doing with the resources he has. It wouldn’t surprise me if John Eustace isn’t getting what he wants, whether he will have his head turned soon.”
Sutton admits he has a soft spot for Rovers and says he is sad to see them in the Championship when they were top dogs 30 years ago. “I do keep an eye on them, and all my old clubs,” he said.
“I care a lot about Blackburn as a club. I often go back and visit the area. I had a great five years under Jack Walker. “They have different owners now, and we know how the fans feel about them.
“There were such high expectations of the Venky’s. They were linked with all the top names in football – Ronaldinho, David Beckham – and yet the club has fallen from grace. When I was there, they had an owner, Jack Walker, who actually did what he said he was going to do.
“You look at the gates, now the stadium is not even half full at times. It’s sad to see the way the club’s fallen, but Blackburn is a small town that’s in a big footballing hotbed.”
Sutton feels a Cup shock could happen if Eustace does not make too many changes to concentrate on the play-offs. “I would hate to see Blackburn make a lot of changes,” he said. “Wolves may have an eye on Premier League survival. You know what it’s like, the old panic sets in because of all the money in the Premier League.
“I think Wolves should go to Blackburn and go full hit. We’ll see, but nothing surprises me with the FA Cup anymore.”
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