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Lowly Blackburn sack manager Ince
Paul Ince has paid for Blackburn's poor start to the season
Blackburn have sacked manager Paul Ince after only three wins in 17 Premier League games left the club languishing second from bottom in the table.
Ince, 41, joined Rovers from MK Dons in June but Blackburn's last league win was at Newcastle on 27 September.
Chairman John Williams said: "Three wins in 17 games has seen a squad which finished seventh last season fall to 19th place.
"We are currently in danger of becoming detached from the pack."
606: DEBATE
He was definitely out of his depth at Blackburn - stepping up 3 leagues was just too much
fenriz
The decision to sack Ince was taken after a Blackburn board meeting and Williams made it clear that the need to keep the club in the top flight was behind the move.
Former boss Graeme Souness is an early front-runner to take over, possibly assisted by veteran Blackburn midfielder Tugay.
The former Bolton and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce, who was considered for the post in the summer before Ince got the job, and ex-Charlton and West Ham boss Alan Curbishley have also been linked.
Williams was publicly critical of Blackburn's display in what proved to be Ince's final game, the 3-0 defeat at Wigan on Saturday.
He added: "The survival of the club in the Premier League is paramount and our focus is on finding a replacement who will be able to maintain our top-division status.
Ince's final interview as Blackburn manager
"Paul will bounce back, he is a fighter and we wish him well."
A statement released on the Blackburn website said: "The board, having selected Paul Ince back in June, were desperate for him to succeed and wanted to give him as much time as possible in the unforgiving environment of the Premier League, where time is such a precious commodity."
The Blackburn squad returned to training on Tuesday after their Christmas party in Dublin and they were put through their paces by assistant manager Ray Matthias while Ince met with the board.
Ince, a former Manchester United and England midfielder, was appointed on 22 June on a three-year contract and, despite a promising start to the campaign, saw performances and results begin to deteriorate.
The worry is the league table is beginning to stretch out and now we need two wins just to get back among the pack at the bottom
Blackburn chairman John Williams after Saturday's 3-0 defeat by Wigan
Rovers have lost their last six league games and there have been reports of dressing-room unrest.
Following the defeat at Wigan, Williams told the Lancashire Telegraph: "After all the signs coming out of Brockhall (Blackburn's training ground) this week, I was led to believe we would get a top performance.
"Without taking anything away from Wigan I have to say I was very disappointed with what I saw.
"The worry is the league table is beginning to stretch out and now we need two wins just to get back among the pack at the bottom."
Blackburn's part-time defensive coach Nigel Winterburn felt Ince should have been given more time to prove himself at Ewood Park.
"I would have loved for him to be given time in the transfer window in January to bring in his own players," Winterburn said.
"I'm positive that he would have seen results improve but the board have decided that isn't the case.
Who's going to want to turn to the club now - they're struggling a little bit, there's not a lot of finances there, there are quite a few injuries
Former Blackburn striker Kevin Gallagher
"I think people were starting to panic. The results have not picked up and they've decided they need someone else in place to drive the club forward."
Former Blackburn striker Kevin Gallagher told BBC Radio 5 Live that the club is desperate to avoid relegation and the resultant loss of income.
"I thought he would get a little bit more time, maybe to get into the transfer market, spend a bit of money and see how it went," said Gallagher. "But having seen the chairman's face on the Tv at the weekend that told a massive story. "The club have a trust fund and they have been trying to sell the club. If the club go down that's a lot of money lost and the valuation of the club goes down as well. I think they've been possibly putting a lot of pressure on the board.
"The board have been trying to back Paul as much as they could but the display at the weekend was the final straw - the pressure told and something had to give. Unfortunately it was Paul."
Gallagher admits the club is not currently the most attractive proposition for an incoming manager.
"Who's going to want to turn to the club now, sitting second bottom?" he added. "They're struggling a little bit, there's not a lot of finances there, there are quite a few injuries. "Steve McClaren was mentioned but he's doing very well in Holland (at FC Twente) and I've heard a small rumour about Roberto Mancini, there'll be a lot of names brandished about. "The CVs that were put in a cupboard six months ago when Paul got the job will be coming back out again."
Paul Ince has paid for Blackburn's poor start to the seasonBlackburn have sacked manager Paul Ince after only three wins in 17 Premier League games left the club languishing second from bottom in the table.
Ince, 41, joined Rovers from MK Dons in June but Blackburn's last league win was at Newcastle on 27 September.
Chairman John Williams said: "Three wins in 17 games has seen a squad which finished seventh last season fall to 19th place.
"We are currently in danger of becoming detached from the pack."
606: DEBATE He was definitely out of his depth at Blackburn - stepping up 3 leagues was just too much
fenriz
The decision to sack Ince was taken after a Blackburn board meeting and Williams made it clear that the need to keep the club in the top flight was behind the move.
Former boss Graeme Souness is an early front-runner to take over, possibly assisted by veteran Blackburn midfielder Tugay.
The former Bolton and Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce, who was considered for the post in the summer before Ince got the job, and ex-Charlton and West Ham boss Alan Curbishley have also been linked.
Williams was publicly critical of Blackburn's display in what proved to be Ince's final game, the 3-0 defeat at Wigan on Saturday.
He added: "The survival of the club in the Premier League is paramount and our focus is on finding a replacement who will be able to maintain our top-division status.
Ince's final interview as Blackburn manager
"Paul will bounce back, he is a fighter and we wish him well."
A statement released on the Blackburn website said: "The board, having selected Paul Ince back in June, were desperate for him to succeed and wanted to give him as much time as possible in the unforgiving environment of the Premier League, where time is such a precious commodity."
The Blackburn squad returned to training on Tuesday after their Christmas party in Dublin and they were put through their paces by assistant manager Ray Matthias while Ince met with the board.
Ince, a former Manchester United and England midfielder, was appointed on 22 June on a three-year contract and, despite a promising start to the campaign, saw performances and results begin to deteriorate.
The worry is the league table is beginning to stretch out and now we need two wins just to get back among the pack at the bottom
Blackburn chairman John Williams after Saturday's 3-0 defeat by Wigan
Rovers have lost their last six league games and there have been reports of dressing-room unrest.
Following the defeat at Wigan, Williams told the Lancashire Telegraph: "After all the signs coming out of Brockhall (Blackburn's training ground) this week, I was led to believe we would get a top performance.
"Without taking anything away from Wigan I have to say I was very disappointed with what I saw.
"The worry is the league table is beginning to stretch out and now we need two wins just to get back among the pack at the bottom."
Blackburn's part-time defensive coach Nigel Winterburn felt Ince should have been given more time to prove himself at Ewood Park.
"I would have loved for him to be given time in the transfer window in January to bring in his own players," Winterburn said.
"I'm positive that he would have seen results improve but the board have decided that isn't the case.
Who's going to want to turn to the club now - they're struggling a little bit, there's not a lot of finances there, there are quite a few injuries
Former Blackburn striker Kevin Gallagher
"I think people were starting to panic. The results have not picked up and they've decided they need someone else in place to drive the club forward."
Former Blackburn striker Kevin Gallagher told BBC Radio 5 Live that the club is desperate to avoid relegation and the resultant loss of income.
"I thought he would get a little bit more time, maybe to get into the transfer market, spend a bit of money and see how it went," said Gallagher. "But having seen the chairman's face on the Tv at the weekend that told a massive story. "The club have a trust fund and they have been trying to sell the club. If the club go down that's a lot of money lost and the valuation of the club goes down as well. I think they've been possibly putting a lot of pressure on the board.
"The board have been trying to back Paul as much as they could but the display at the weekend was the final straw - the pressure told and something had to give. Unfortunately it was Paul."
Gallagher admits the club is not currently the most attractive proposition for an incoming manager.
"Who's going to want to turn to the club now, sitting second bottom?" he added. "They're struggling a little bit, there's not a lot of finances there, there are quite a few injuries. "Steve McClaren was mentioned but he's doing very well in Holland (at FC Twente) and I've heard a small rumour about Roberto Mancini, there'll be a lot of names brandished about. "The CVs that were put in a cupboard six months ago when Paul got the job will be coming back out again."
Manchester United were beaten 2-1 at Arsenal in November
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