Blackburn Rovers: Kean out, but who will replace him?

One down, one to go. That's what the Rovers fans will be thinking after Steve Kean finally resigned as Blackburn boss on Friday night.

The Scot had been under intense pressure and speculation had been rife all week that he was on borrowed time and about to be shown the door. Kean decided to jump before he was pushed, but who will replace him in the Rovers' dugout and how much longer can the Venky's stay in charge for?

Early favourites for the job include former Rovers stars Tim Sherwood and Alan Shearer, but will they be persuaded to work under the Venky's?

I'm going to take a look at the main runners and riders and give my assessment as to their chances of landing the coveted post.

Tim Sherwood

The former title-winning captain has been strongly linked with a return to Ewood Park and has been labelled as one of the best young coaches in the game. Sherwood is currently a member of Andre Villas-Boas' backroom staff at Spurs and the former Chelsea chief says he will not stand in his way if he wants to go, but this would be a huge challenge for a rookie manager.

Alan Shearer

Another former Rovers hero, Shearer is second favourite to replace Kean in the dugout. It was Shearer's goals as a player that brought the Premier League title back to the club, but could he guide the Rovers back to the top flight at the first time of asking? Not if you look at his brief spell as Newcastle manager. Shearer has waited patiently to land his first real managerial job and most pundits expected it would be at Ewood Park. But would he really want to work with the Venky's?

Harry Redknapp

No chance. The former Spurs boss was axed in the summer despite leading them to a fourth place finish last season. However, Redknapp is a south coast man. He's never going to manage anyone north of the Watford Gap and after missing out on the England job he's certainly not going to drop his standards from Champions League to Championship football.

Mick McCarthy

Deary me. The former Wolves boss may know how to get teams out of this division but his style of football is rotten. Blackburn would have been better sticking with Steve Kean than appointing McCarthy!

Colin Hendry

There's no doubt that Colin Hendry loves Blackburn. Like Sherwood and Shearer, he was part of that historic title winning side in 1995. Hendry put his body on the line for the club every time he pulled on the shirt. However, Hendry is proof that not all great players can become great managers. He was sacked by Blackpool after 18 months and failed to push up any trees with Clyde. I'm sure he wouldn't let Rovers down but I believe they need a proven manager now.

Eric Black

The former Aberdeen striker is currently the caretaker boss but Rovers could do a lot worse than make Black their main man. He is a highly respected coach and loves to promote attacking football. He was in charge at Coventry in 2003/04 and had the Sky Blues playing some great stuff, only for the chairman to appoint Peter Reid as boss. I would love to see Black be given a chance to be a number one again but after the Kean debacle I don't think the fans would appreciate another member of the backroom staff being promoted.

Alex McLeish

Well if I thought McCarthy was bad the whole of Birmingham is against Alex McLeish. Although he won the Blues the Carling Cup, he also took them down then joined city rivals Villa . . . and almost sent them down too! The former Scotland boss was a great defender in his days at Aberdeen and he builds his teams to defend. If you don't concede you don't lose but the modern game is all about winning. I can't see this coming off.

Billy Davies

There's no doubt Davies knows this division well but there's no way this combustible Scot would get along with the Venky's. He likes everything his own way and to have money to spend. I'm not sure the owners would be happy with that.

Other names in the frame include Gordon Strachan, Gary Flitcroft, Kenny Dalglish, Jurgen Klinsmann and Karl Robinson, among many.

But who would you like to see in charge at Ewood Park?

Whatever your view we'd love to hear from you.