'He'll be aware' - Blackburn Rovers boss told home truths ahead of huge game against Portsmouth

The word of warning comes from former Wolves and Sunderland forward Don Goodman, who believes the Frenchman’s job will come under massive scrutiny if he doesn’t start turning things around at Ewood Park soon.

The Frenchman is yet to taste victory following his appointment as John Eustace’s replacement at the end of February.

His four games in charge to date have produced just a single point, with the Lancashire side suffering defeats against relegation-threatened trio Derby, Stoke and Cardiff ahead of the international break.

Those results have certainly impacted the battle for survival at the bottom end of the Championship table. They’ve also been a hammer blow to Rovers’ promotion hopes, with Blackburn now ninth in the table and five points adrift of the play-off places. The club were fifth in the standings before Eustace decided to succeed the sacked Paul Warne at Derby.

Next up for Ismael & Co is a trip to Fratton Park, where the hosts will be keen to put to bed two awful results at the hands of Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End that have thrown John Mousinho’s side right back into the relegation mix.

But while the pressure will be on the Blues to get a result and get their survival bid back on track, Goodman believes Ismael’s job could be on the line if his poor track record as Blackburn boss continues.

Speaking to Football League World, the Sky Sports pundit said: ‘I think Valerien Ismael probably knows the score.

‘Obviously, he’s managed in England before at Barnsley, West Bromwich Albion and Watford, and he knows that, at the end of the day, if as a head coach or manager you don’t achieve expectations of a football club then you’re not really going to last very long.

‘Unfortunately for Valerien Ismael, I think Blackburn Rovers under John Eustace were massively, massively over-achieving and Valerien has gone in at a time when everything is leveling off really for Blackburn.

‘I think they probably find themselves somewhere in the table where they belong. But he’ll be aware, if results don’t pick up his job will be under threat.’

Portsmouth v Blackburn Rovers

The Fratton Park fixture will be Blackburn’s first visit to PO4 since 2018, when they ran out 2-1 winners in League One.

The two teams met for the first time since then in January at Ewood Park, with the home side securing a comfortable 3-0 win.

That helped Rovers cement their place in the play-off positions. They also moved 17 points clear of Pompey that night, with defeat for Mousinho’s men their third in a row.

The gap between the two teams now sits at 10 points - and that’s one that could be dramatically reduced again come Saturday if the Blues secure a win that will go a long way to helping their bid to remain a Championship side.

Derby, Stoke and Cardiff’s recent results against Blackburn will provide hope within the Pompey ranks. However, how many times have Pompey fell into that trap this season?

For your next Pompey read: Portsmouth striker heading back to Fratton Park early with injury picked up on international duty