Kean digs in at fallen Rovers

Blackburn manager Steve Kean insists he and owners Venky’s are staying put while mystery surrounds the position of deputy chief executive Paul Hunt.

Kean was unwilling to comment on reports that Hunt had been sacked while nobody in the club’s press department was able to confirm or deny the rumours.

Speculation over Hunt’s position came a day after a letter he wrote to Venky’s last December calling for Kean’s removal was published. Hunt also warned of growing financial difficulties and the danger of relegation from the Premier League, which came to pass with defeat to Wigan on Monday.

It is unknown whether he received a reply but few of the recommendations to improve the club in his 2,500-word letter were acted upon.

“I am aware of the speculation but I can’t, at this moment, confirm it,” Kean said. “That is all I want to say on that matter. I just want to talk about the Chelsea game.”

Venky’s have proven hugely unpopular owners since their takeover last November 2010 while Kean has been the subject of vitriolic fans’ abuse right through the season.

That reached a nadir as relegation was confirmed but Kean has vowed to fight on.

“It is very simple. The owners are here for the long term, I am here for the long term.

“We are now taking one step backwards to push forward. I am confident we can get there. We have the basis of a good young side, we just have to add more experience.

“I said a number of weeks ago, it is a changing time for the club. We have got new owners and I still think I am new into the job.

“Moving forward, I think it is going to be an exciting time for the club. We have taken a massive step back but we have to make sure we get back at the first time of asking.

“The owners are not going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere.”

When asked if Venky’s are the right owners for the club, Kean said: “100%”.

Hunt’s letter, whilst not being directly critical, amounted to a damning indictment of the regime under Venky’s, who are based in the Indian city of Pune.

In it he also called for greater executive power to make decisions on the owners’ behalf and for more communication with and visits from officials in India.

It often seems the only regular line of communication between the club and owners is through Kean, who says he has already held in-depth discussions with them over the make-up of next year’s squad.

“They are the same as myself and the players. They are devastated. We are very numb,” Kean said.

“We have taken a step backwards but we have to prepare a squad and the process has already started. I have spoken at great lengths with the owners and now we have to start building a squad to hit the ground running and make sure it is one step backwards to take two forward, and we come back at the first time of asking.

“That is the only objective now we can work on.”

Meanwhile former club hero Alan Shearer expressed sympathy for Kean while blaming owners Venky’s for the club’s malaise.

“I have to say, I feel sympathy for Steve Kean because he was thrown into the lions’ den really — you get on with it, you are the face, you are speaking about everything, whatever is right or wrong,” Shearer told talkSPORT.

“There is only the owners you can blame really — they are the only guys you can look at. What disappoints me is that nobody really hears from them.

“We heard from them when they first went in — they were going to sign Ronaldinho and [David] Beckham and whoever.

“But no disrespect to the players they have brought in, but they are not Ronaldinho or Beckham. The manager has had to take all of the flak. He goes out there [India] once a month from what I can gather to give a briefing or be briefed on whatever has happened or is happening, and the club is in a mess now.”