Blackburn Rovers are weighing up a move for Reading head coach Leam Richardson as they search for a new manager following another damaging downturn in the Championship, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Rovers moved quickly to dismiss Valérien Ismaël earlier this week after an eight-game winless run dragged the club into the relegation places, leaving the board under mounting pressure to stabilise a season that has drifted badly off course.
Surprise candidate not long in post
Richardson has emerged as a prominent name in early discussions. Since taking charge at Reading in October, the 46-year-old has been credited with restoring structure and calm after a turbulent period, losing only four league matches and quietly pushing the club back towards the League One play-off picture.
Any formal approach would not be straightforward. Reading are understood to have inserted a compensation figure in the region of £400,000 into Richardson’s contract, a sum Blackburn would need to weigh carefully given their ongoing financial constraints and the urgency of their situation.
The link is not without sentiment. Richardson came through the academy at Blackburn Rovers and later made his senior debut for the club, a connection that has only fuelled speculation as Rovers look for a manager capable of steadying the ship rather than embarking on another philosophical reset.
Little room for failure
Blackburn’s current predicament leaves little room for experimentation. The club sit inside the Championship relegation zone, with confidence fragile and margins tightening by the week. The next appointment is expected to focus less on long-term vision and more on immediate organisation, results, and survival.
Richardson’s managerial CV offers a mixed but relevant profile. He led Wigan Athletic to the League One title in 2021–22, earning Manager of the Season honours, but later struggled amid instability and financial turmoil before departing. A difficult spell at Rotherham United followed, though his Reading tenure has gone some way towards repairing his reputation.
Other names remain under consideration. Former Rovers boss Mark Hughes, now in charge of Carlisle United, has been discussed internally, while ex-Wales manager Chris Coleman is also understood to be on the longlist after his recent spell in Greece.
For Blackburn, the decision is looming. With the season slipping away and survival far from assured, the next appointment could define not just the final months of this campaign, but the club’s immediate future in the Championship. If they do slip out, there is every chance they’d be facing Richardson’s current employer, Reading, next season.
The big question is whether he is prepared to jump ship out of sentiment for a club famed for instability, or stay in post and carry on the good work he’s started, and one that has (hopefully) put their crazy years behind them? Surely, he would be crazy to jump ship now.