--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-05-06T15:28:58.101Z last_updated: 2026-05-06T04:00:00+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/blackburn-rovers/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGFuY2FzaGlyZXRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9zcG9ydC8yNjA4MDIzMi5ibGFja2J1cm4tcm92ZXJzLWZhY3RzLWhpZ2hsaWdodC1mb3VyLWtleS1hcmVhcy1pbXByb3ZlLz9yZWY9cnNz --- # Blackburn Rovers facts highlight four key areas to improve next season - **Source:** - **Published:** 6 May - **Club:** Blackburn Rovers - **Original URL:** https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/26080232.blackburn-rovers-facts-highlight-four-key-areas-improve/?ref=rss Blackburn Rovers survived Championship relegation but will need to address plenty of issues to avoid another survival scrap next term. Michael O'Neill oversaw a fantastic escape with 20 points from his first 14 games to secure safety. Though he was pleased and very relieved to complete the mission, he's been clear that there is work to do. Initially highlighted by Harry Bell on X, there are some remarkable stats which underline Rovers' bonkers season. They are black and white facts which shows what must be done to avoid a similar campaign in 2026/27. More:Two Blackburn Rovers players offer big hints at transfer decisions Points tally reality Blackburn Rovers collected the third-lowest number of points in the Championship during 2025/26. Two teams finished below them as a result of points deductions. Now, it would be too simplistic to say they would’ve been relegated. Leicester City only gained more as a result of their win on final day, a game that ultimately didn’t matter and so would’ve been approached entirely differently if it had. But Rovers have been fortunate that the teams around them have been basket cases, in some ways. Sheffield Wednesday were a write-off from matchday one and so one relegation space was already assigned. Leicester’s six-point deduction was very helpful. Their double relegation was unpredictable at the start of the season, even if it was the second in as many seasons after Luton Town. What I will say is that the teams coming up from League One, Lincoln City and Cardiff City, are unlikely to have the biggest budgets. They won’t blow teams out of the water in the same way that Birmingham City and Wrexham have. But this has to be a wake-up call. 52 is not a particularly low points tally but only two teams collected fewer and that is a fact. Ewood Park and goal-scoring issues Rovers were the second-lowest goal-scorers in the Championship, averaging fewer than one per game. That is the lowest since 2008/09, though that was a 38-game Premier League season. Ewood Park was an unhappy hunting ground overall. They won just four games, the lowest amount since 1897/98, which was across 15 home games rather than 23. Of those 42 goals, only 19 were in front of the home crowd. That equalled the lowest scored since 1970/71, again with 21 games rather than 23. For context, the average has been 33 since the club were relegated from the top flight. As outlined by O'Neill, if they want to move away from the bottom, they have to improve the home form. Ryoya Morishita won Player of the Year. (Image: CameraSport - Lee Parker) Rovers' summer transfer window left the squad exposed. They lost too much Championship experience and within that, players who were durable enough to last a full season. Around 3,000 appearances in English football left. Only crica 200 came in. Summer signings Sean McLoughlin, Ryan Alebiosu and Ryoya Morishita were three of the five players who played the most amount of minutes, all above 2,600. The number of injuries was unprecedented. There isn't much of an obvious link to the medical department, considering the range of problems. Some were soft-tissue, others were contact injuries. Then some bad luck, as befell Lewis Miller and Sondre Tronstad, particularly. At least seven players underwent surgery at some stage. Rovers registered 28 players across the season, with 20 debuts handed out. That underlines the churn of the squad in the last 12 months. 40 players were used in total, five more than the season before. Having outlined a desire to develop their own players and avoid the loan market, the minutes played by loans was 5,527. That is the highest for five seasons, albeit a large proportion came from Eiran Cashin (1958), who they signed in January, and Moussa Baradji (1746), who they have the option to buy. Though the number of substitutions made was only reduced by 10 to 185, the impact of those coming from the bench was drastically less. Under John Eustace, it was a big theme but Rovers went from 14 goals to five from those in reserve. That again underlines the verdict shared by many, including Michael O'Neill, that the depth of quality in the squad has been a big issue. More:Michael O'Neill unable to avoid Blackburn Rovers spotlight after rescue mission Managerial instability Coincidentally, this was the third successive February in which Rovers made a managerial change. This was the first since 2017/18 that it was the club who pulled the trigger. In the last five seasons, a new head coach has ended the following season. From Tony Mowbray, to Jon Dahl Tomasson, John Eustace, Ismael and O'Neill. They will hope that doesn't continue into a sixth year. Under O'Neill, you feel they will have to make promises to improve in order to keep him. He'll want assurances and I believe if he gets them, there's every chance he stays. The way he speaks about the club, and it's potential, certainly gives that impression. But he doesn't suffer fools and he also knows there's a lot of hard work to do.