English Premiership
Confusion at relegated Rovers
2012-05-09 18:34
London - Relegated Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday refused to comment on reports that their deputy chief executive had been sacked, amid claims that he wrote to the club's Indian owners calling for the dismissal of manager Steve Kean.
The BBC and Sky News both reported that Paul Hunt had been sacked for telling poultry giants Venky's that Kean should go to help stave off the threat of relegation from the lucrative English Premier League.
Blackburn - with Kean still their manager - were relegated following Monday's 1-0 defeat by Wigan at Ewood Park.
Kean, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday before Blackburn's final league game of the season at Chelsea this weekend, said: "I am aware of the speculation but I can't, at this moment, confirm it.
"That is all I want to say on that matter. I just want to talk about the Chelsea game."
Meanwhile, the Rovers press office could not confirm or deny the reports.
Hunt's letter, written after a home defeat by local rivals Bolton in December, also revealed his concerns about the club's financial position and the growing mood of supporter unrest at Ewood Park following Venky's takeover in November 2010.
The letter, made public by the Sporting Intelligence website, said of Kean: "Publicly I have been asked to support the manager and I always have as I personally like Steve.
"However, I am now of the opinion that it isn't working and he is ready to go. He has lost the crowd and as a result of this evening's game has lost the dressing room as well - the players no longer want to play for him.
"It is a shame and disappointing but we must act now to save the club."
Sporting Intelligence editor Nick Harris took the unusual step on Wednesday of insisting Hunt was not the source of the leak.
"Normally journalists don't reveal their sources but on this occasion I would like to say unequivocally that I didn't receive that letter from Paul Hunt," Harris told the BBC.
"If they sack him for leaking that letter to me, they have got the wrong man."
Venky's avoided the media in India and Britain on Tuesday after no senior members of the family firm were seen at Ewood Park on Monday.
One angry fan released a chicken wrapped in a Blackburn flag onto the pitch during the match with a one-word message for the owners: "Out."