Since then, a number of names have been linked with the vacant role at Ewood Park, including some rather high profile names.

Among those who have been namechecked as potential candidates for the vacant managerial role at Blackburn are Gary O’Neil and Steven Gerrard.

It now seems as though at least one of those names is indeed a genuine contender to replace Eustace in the dugout at Ewood Park.

On Monday (17 February) it was reported that O’Neil will hold talks with the club this week as they look to appoint a new boss (The Lancashire Telegraph).

In the circumstances that news has left Blackburn with a clear priority when it comes to their off-field business over the coming days.

Those talks are not only a chance for O’Neil to impress the Rovers hierarchy, but also for the club to convince the 41-year-old that this would be the right job for him, something they surely have to do.

If they were to bring him in, Blackburn would be getting a manager with genuine pedigree in the Premier League to replace Eustace.

O’Neil did a remarkable job in keeping Bournemouth in the top-flight, with many feeling he was harshly sacked when he left the club in the summer of 2023.

He followed that up with a solid start to life at Wolves, before things started to go wrong amid issues over squad depth and quality, and a whole host of refereeing decisions that seemed to go against them.

That Premier League standard could certainly make O’Neil a useful candidate in the Championship, and it may be a statement of intent that Blackburn need.

Many have questioned the direction of the club after they lost Eustace to a team 16 positions below in the league table.

Bringing in O’Neil though would show they can still attract good managers to keep the club moving forward – although they would have to back it up in the transfer window.

Indeed, with half of the first-team squad set to have their contract or loan expire at the end of this season, it is vital Blackburn take advantage of the position they are currently in, over the next few months.

The appointment of O’Neil would give rise to the hope that they can indeed do just that, argubaly in contrast to Gerrard.

The former Liverpool midfielder’s only other managerial spell in England fell flat at Aston Villa, with the club fighting relegation from the Premier League when he was sacked before thriving under Unai Emery.

Having also struggled to really succeed in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq, there would surely be questions about the reasons behind this appointment if it happened, as his title win with Rangers starts to look more of an outlier.

All of that would give rise to more concerns that this would be another appointment made due to an individual’s history as a player, rather than a manager.

That has of course, not always worked out and so would feel like a gamble Blackburn simply cannot afford to take when considering what is at stake for them in the coming weeks.

With that in mind, it seems that as talks step up over the next few days, doing enough to ensure O’Neil is keen on a move to Ewood Park, surely has to be a number one priority for Rovers.

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