Paul Ince faced a difficult task when he took the job at Ewood Park last summer after Mark Hughes left for the riches offered by Manchester City. Unlike other former players like Gareth Southgate, Stuart Pearce and Gordon Strachan, Ince learned his trade in the lower leagues with Macclesfield and Milton Keynes Dons before joining Blackburn Rovers, but was he ready to make the step up? Ince has wrongly been described as the first black manager in the English Premier League; that distinction belongs to former French great Jean Tigana, who managed Fulham between 2001-2003.1 Ince has been vociferous in his criticism of the lack of opportunities for black managers and coaches, but did Ince make the most of his opportunity at Blackburn? It required the ability to adapt plans to suit current requirements. Ince’s credentials were quickly put to the test by the sending off of Martin Olsson in the match against Tottenham with almost an hour remaining.

“The team did very well,” said Ince. “It was a difficult game; I thought if we could start off sharp, we could silence the crowd, which you need to do the whole game, but sendings off obviously change games. We started off really well, created chances. It’s not just the strikers, it was everybody. We had chances and that’s how we play football, but we need to start taking them. You know Benni [McCarthy] had a great chance in the first half and Morten [Gamst Pedersen] in the second half, but we’ve got the positive stuff. Look we’ve got a long way to go, but it’s in our own hands. We only need a bit of luck; it’s just a matter of time.” But it wasn’t just bad luck at least in that match; there was no answer to the threat posed by Aaron Lennon, which led to the sending off, so was Ince in denial about the extent of the problem that Blackburn faced? Blackburn had forgotten how to win under him and it was becoming a serious problem, as opportunities to earn points were running out, so how would he address the problem? “I think it’s eight now apart from the Sunderland game, he said, “but we’ve drawn a lot of games that we should have won. You win a couple of games and you’re back in the hunt, so we’ll carry on. Even with losing it’s one a time. There’s a long, long way to go.”

Like many club managers Ince has strong opinions on international football. It hardly mattered in the lower leagues, but he saw the problems clearly with international breaks while at Blackburn. It disrupted his preparations at a time that he really needed to work with his players. “You know he [McCarthy] worked so hard,” said Ince. “He played forty-five and he looked out on his feet. It’s easier when they are at home, but you want to get your lads back for the next couple of games. It’s the same for everybody else, but it’s not what you want at this moment in time.”

There were several matches remaining, but despite being aware of the problem, Ince did not seem to be addressing the problem that Blackburn was leaking points and if the alarming trend was not arrested promptly, they could face relegation. The tide turned against Ince in December following a 5-3 defeat to Manchester United with fans chanting ‘You don’t know what you’re doing.’

Ince’s reign as Blackburn boss lasted just 177 days, as Blackburn terminated his contract on December 16th before a winnable fixture against Stoke that Rovers subsequently won. Blackburn claimed that they had to sack him before it was too late and they got relegated, but Ince believes that he was not given enough time and that the results would have come if he had been given time, but football is a results-driven business. Even World Cup winning coaches cannot rely on past glories, let alone young managers keen to make an impact.