BLACKBURN Rovers’ new owner is planning to speak to boss Sam Allardyce to tell him: “We don’t just want results but entertainment too.”
In an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, Venky’s chairman Anuradha J Desai said that she will fight for the fans’ wishes for attacking and entertaining play.
Speaking from her home in Pune, India, she said she has become enthused with football after watching Rovers’ last two matches on television, including the 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
And she said she is keen to speak to Allardyce in the coming days about her vision for the club.
Anuradha J Desai
Desai also said that Rovers are ‘no longer a selling club’ and said she is looking forward to a bright future that will see them moving up the Premier League and challenging for trophies.
Venky’s finally completed a £23million takeover of the club on Friday, bringing to an end the Jack Walker era.
She said: “I am going to speak to the manager soon and tell him that the fans’ opinions are very important.
“We should go up in the rankings but playing well is not just about winning. I am going to convey that to him. The way we play is vital.
“We are not interested in the past and we are only thinking of the future.”
Sam Allardyce
She said that she plans to visit Lancashire in January for a series of meetings with the club and with Allardyce himself. But ahead of that she said she is expecting to speak to him by telephone in the coming days.
Her brothers Balaji and Venkateshwara, who were introduced to the crowd before Sunday’s match, have already met with Allardyce and further meetings are planned, she said.
She said: “Blackburn is now my second home. When you are so much involved in the club and its well-being you feel a real connection to the place.
“We are now totally committed to the club and its success and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
“I am now really looking forward to coming over and watching some matches.
“My brothers will be coming more often.
Jack Walker and Alan Shearer
“We want to know what is happening and we will be there to watch one match in every five or six.
“I am now becoming a big football fan.
“I was a hardcore cricket fan but that is all changing. My view has changed overnight.”
She said that money will be made available for transfers in January.
Desai said: “We are not a selling club now. We are in the market for good players that can improve the team. We have a commitment to the fans and the club and we will be investing. New players will be arriving. I can’t go in to how much we will be spending but money will be available.
“When we get those players I think the club can start moving up the table.
“We are not going to make any hasty decisions about the management of the club.
“It has not been bad so far this season and we will see how things go for the rest of the season.”
