# 2025–26 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season
The 2025–26 [Blackburn Rovers F.C.](https://www.edgepedia.org/blackburn-rovers-f-c) season was the club's campaign in the [EFL Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/efl-championship), the second tier of English football, in which [Blackburn](https://www.edgepedia.org/blackburn) finished 20th of 24 teams with 52 points, survived a relegation battle, and went through three managers between February 2025 and the end of the season.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Final league position | 20th in the Championship (2nd tier), 52 points from 46 matches (1.13 per game)[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats) |
| Record | 13 wins, 13 draws, 20 losses; home 4-9-10, away 9-4-10[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats) |
| Goals | 42 scored (0.91 per game), 56 conceded (1.22 per game), difference −14[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats) |
| FA Cup | Lost in the third round proper to Hull City[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats) |
| EFL Cup | Lost in the first round to Bradford City[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats) |
| Managers | Valérien Ismaël (25 Feb 2025 – 2 Feb 2026), caretaker Damien Johnson (2–13 Feb 2026), Michael O'Neill (13 Feb 2026 onward)[2](https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?teamTabs=managers&team_id=308) |
| Pre-season projection | Opta supercomputer ranked Blackburn 10th with an average simulated total of 63.4 points[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/championship-predictions-opta-supercomputer-2025-26) |
## Managers and the mid-season change
[Valérien Ismaël](https://www.edgepedia.org/valerien-ismael), appointed on 25 February 2025, led the club into the 2025–26 season but was dismissed on 2 February 2026[2](https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?teamTabs=managers&team_id=308). Damien Johnson took charge for eleven days as caretaker before Michael O'Neill was appointed on 13 February 2026[2](https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?teamTabs=managers&team_id=308). O'Neill held the Blackburn job while continuing as [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland)'s national manager, and in March 2026 he was photographed in the Blackburn dugout at [The Den](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-den) for the Championship match against Millwall while pursuing World Cup 2026 qualification with Northern Ireland[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/northern-ireland-world-cup-2026-squad).
The BBC noted that the season ended with a sixth different manager on the final day in as many seasons, a pattern the broadcaster argued could not become the norm[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx21p07jy79o).
## League season
Blackburn's form fell well short of pre-season expectations. The Opta supercomputer, simulating the season 10,000 times, had projected a 10th-place finish on 63.4 average points; the club instead finished 20th on 52[3](https://theanalyst.com/articles/championship-predictions-opta-supercomputer-2025-26) • [1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats).
By the end of 2025 the club was described by [BBC Sport](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-sport) as "running on empty", fractured by a long injury list and the effects of a chaotic summer transfer window, after having come within a fraction of the Championship play-off places the previous May[6](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cp898gx4yr7o). In January 2026, after a defeat at Ipswich Town in which the injury-depleted squad contributed to the result, BBC Sport wrote that the club "must face up to a relegation battle"[7](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn9z7d3yn37o).
Ismaël switched the team to a 3-5-2 system, a shape the recruitment was said to suit; across 18 league games under that switch Blackburn recorded five wins, six draws, and seven defeats for 21 points[7](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn9z7d3yn37o). The squad stood at 26 senior players[7](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn9z7d3yn37o).
One fixture entered the record books for a different reason: the home match against Ipswich Town on 20 September 2025 was abandoned on 80 minutes after heavy rain left the [Ewood Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/ewood-park) pitch waterlogged, and the game was replayed in full[8](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/blackburn-rovers-vs-ipswich-town-will-be-replayed-in-full-after-game-abandoned-on-80-minutes-report).
## Cup competitions
Both cup campaigns ended at the first hurdle. Blackburn lost to Bradford City in the first round of the [EFL Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/efl-cup) and to Hull City in the third round proper of the [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup)[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats).
## Squad and goalkeeping
The league goalkeeping duties were shared between Balázs Tóth, who made 34 Championship appearances with a 69.5 percent save rate and nine clean sheets, and Aynsley Pears, who made 13 appearances with a 61.8 percent save rate and four clean sheets[1](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats). Across the 46-match season the squad used 37 players, collected 98 yellow cards and one red card, and averaged 48.1 percent possession[9](https://fbref.com/en/comps/10/2025-2026/stats/).
## References
1. [2025-2026 Blackburn Rovers Stats, Championship, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/squads/e090f40b/2025-2026/Blackburn-Rovers-Stats)
2. [Blackburn Manager History, Soccerbase](https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?teamTabs=managers&team_id=308)
3. [Championship Predictions 2025-26: The Opta Supercomputer Projections, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/championship-predictions-opta-supercomputer-2025-26)
4. [Northern Ireland World Cup 2026 squad: Michael O'Neill's latest selection, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/northern-ireland-world-cup-2026-squad)
5. [Blackburn Rovers 2025-26 - anything but dull, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx21p07jy79o)
6. [Blackburn Rovers: Club paying price for 'botched recruitment', BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cp898gx4yr7o)
7. [Blackburn Rovers: Championship strugglers 'must face up to a relegation battle', BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn9z7d3yn37o)
8. [Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town will be REPLAYED in full after game abandoned on 80 minutes, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/blackburn-rovers-vs-ipswich-town-will-be-replayed-in-full-after-game-abandoned-on-80-minutes-report)
9. [2025-2026 Championship Stats, FBref.com](https://fbref.com/en/comps/10/2025-2026/stats/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Club seasons › English lower league club seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license