Blackburn Rovers’ deputy chief executive Paul Hunt admits the club are “extremely concerned” at the number of fans staying away from Ewood Park this season.
Rovers have seen attendances fall this season as they fight to retain their Premier League status, with Hunt insisting efforts are being made to re-engage the club with the community.
He revealed the club were putting the finishing touches to next campaign’s season ticket prices but accepted work needed to be done to bring supporters back to the football club.
Rovers’ crowd of 20,615 for the 2-1 home defeat to Stoke in January was their lowest for three years and, since then, attendances have been lower again at Ewood Park, including a little more than 18,000 for the visit of Fulham.
Hunt said: “It would be remiss of me to say we are going to increase by 50 per cent. We understand there are going to be issues. We are extremely concerned by the numbers staying away.
“You will get some who can’t go to every game every week but there are more staying away at Blackburn Rovers than last year.
“We desperately want people to come in and enjoy themselves. We are trying to build relationships with the fan base and re-engage.”
Ewood Park Blackburn
Hunt though, who insisted owners Venky’s were at the club for the long haul, said there were positives to take from recent efforts.
“There are plenty of positives to talk about,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire. “The Bolton game we have got an extra allocation, the Wolves game was the perfect execution – it was one of those great afternoons.
“There are so many positives coming out of the football club. The community trust, Blackburn Rovers youth zone. There are tens of hundreds of things we are doing to bring the fan base and community closer to the club.
“Season tickets are the next major fan thing we are doing. I am pretty sure people will not be too disappointed. We want to bring people back to Ewood Park and make sure they have an enjoyable afternoon.”
Meanwhile, when quizzed about Michel Salgado’s situation at Blackburn Rovers Hunt insisted the former Spanish international remained a valued member of the playing staff.
The 36-year-old has not featured since early December for what he claimed were “contractual” reasons.
Hunt said: “He is very much a Blackburn Rovers player. He trains every day and he has been fantastic for the club.
“Unfortunately for Michel Salgado, we have had the rise to prominence of Jason Lowe and brought in Bradley Orr since.
“For me, and it is not my job to pick the team, we get a lot more out of Bradley Orr than we were doing from Michel Salgado earlier in the season.
“He has got a contract and that information is commercially sensitive. I am not prepared to comment on that. He is a very valued member of the playing staff and a decent servant to the club.”
