Broughton on 'good relationship' with Travis and summer transfer plans

Rovers “retain a really good working relationship” with Lewis Travis, says director of football Gregg Broughton.

The midfielder has been on loan at Ipswich since the January window as the Tractor Boys push for promotion to the top flight.

Skipper Travis had wanted to play as a holding midfielder but was used in a more advanced role by Jon Dahl Tomasson during the first half of the season.

Broughton told The Lancashire Telegraph: "It is very easy to sit here in hindsight and say would we have done things differently if we know what we know now with Adam (Wharton) leaving and a change of manager?

"Jon was very clear about the events that led into that in the previous transfer window with Lewis, and also that Lewis wanted to start in his preferred position for Jon.

"Jon put all that on the record at the time. We cannot have a situation where I say the head coach gets the final say on transfers and then overrule the head coach and the player's desire to let that move happen at the time.

"Otherwise, I will never have a working relationship with the head coach or a player. You have to respect both parties wanted it to happen at the time.”

He added: "Lewis is a terrific footballer, a terrific human being. I really enjoyed working with him during his time at the club. I said in the summer, I was meeting with him every day or every other day with the challenges going on.

"I was seeing him more than my family at home! We will welcome him back and we retain a really good working relationship with Lewis."

Travis in action for the Tractor Boys (Image: PA)

Travis has made eight appearances for the Tractor Boys so far, including four starts. Kieran Mckenna’s side are top of the table with three games to go, although second-place Leicester have a game in hand.

Rovers took another step towards securing survival following a stunning victory at Leeds over the weekend.

Discussions have already taken place about the club’s plans for the summer window and Broughton went into more detail about his recommendation to the board.

"We all understand the owners are facing legal challenges in India but that is not on behalf of Blackburn Rovers, that is their global business,” he added.

"We have a commitment that we can operate normally in the summer. We have had conversations on what that might look like in terms of shaping the budget and transfer funds.

"My recommendations to the board are that we will have a significant influx of money. It does not all hit in one transaction with Adam Wharton and the David Raya sell-on, but transfers do not go out in one hit either.

"My recommendation is to invest in four areas - transfer fees, wages to be competitive, the Academy and infrastructure and then money put aside for the season in case we need that for whatever reason. Do not spend it all in one hit, you never know how you might go into January.

"The indication is that yes, we will have money to spend. But I have been on record before and said last summer we had clarity on the budget and that had to change for reasons out of our hands.

"We have to get through (the remaining) games and then see what we can do in the summer."

The owners have been using the High Court of Delhi to send money over to Rovers after their parent company, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Private Limited, was placed under restrictions by the Indian Government. However, their latest hearing has been delayed until August.

The club got some early business done last summer but had to “scale back plans” due to the situation overseas, and Broughton admitted it was challenging at times.

"I know it has caused enormous stress throughout the whole business, the owner's global business. It has been very stressful for them,” he continued.

Wharton was sold to Crystal Palace for a club-record fee (Image: PA)

"We have felt the repercussions of that in terms of how we operated last summer, there was a seven-week window in the summer window where we could not do any business. It has had a big impact on them personally and for us as a football club.

“It has been a challenge. We knew last summer we would not have a significant transfer budget to spend but we felt we had a plan.

“We did three early pieces of business and then the changes happened. We scaled back the plans and had to be more reactionary at the end of the window.

"Going into this summer, if we can go in with a clear plan as a Championship club and what we need to do to support John as head coach to shape the squad, that will be absolutely key."

John Eustace has been in the hot seat for nearly 10 weeks and has not yet had chance to put his own stamp on the squad.

The former Birmingham chief’s initial priority was to tighten up Rovers’ defensive numbers and there were certainly promising signs in the recent clean sheets against Southampton and Leeds.

Broughton shed some light on the process that brought Eustace to East Lancashire and explained why he has the qualities to become a long-term success at Ewood Park, in line with the club’s aims and strategy.

"We have been running a shortlist of head coaches in the last 12 months from a data point of view and the soft skills that go with that,” he said. “I update the board on what that looks like, usually quarterly.

"My job in January or February, as things came to a head, was to present a shortlist of coaches from Europe and the UK, coaches in work and out of work.

“I outlined the strengths and weaknesses of each of those appointments, my job is to give that information.

“Three things made (Eustace) an attractive option - the results with Birmingham City, he played the most number of players under the age of 20 in the UK last season and thirdly, although the style at Birmingham was not always aligned with how we want to play at Blackburn, at previous clubs he had shown that.

"It is never a decision I make, that is never my remit. My job is to give the board the information and highlight the risks. That is the same with any transfer, I do not make the final call.

"My job is to say to the owners, via the board, here are the opportunities, here are the threats on any signing or staff member, and they sign it off. That is their job."