Shebby Singh: a man on a mission
‘I call a spade a spade,’ says Singh. ‘There is a job to do, a responsibility on my shoulders. It’s a fresh challenge and it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is.
‘As a football pundit we are most loved if we say nice things but we are most hated if we don’t. So be it.
‘ESPN Star Sports was televised across 21 countries, all of them football crazy. Man United v Liverpool can draw 250million viewers.
Under fire: Steve Kean (right) has seen his preparations hit
‘I’ve never been too popular and I don’t think anything will change. But I will get the job done.
‘I saw them (Kean and Pedersen) personally first and apologised, and then it was only right that I apologised in public. I’m wrong, I’m sorry.
‘Whether they accepted the apology or not, that’s not something I can determine.’
Singh was quite happy living in Singapore and delivering his opinions on world football alongside his old ‘sparring partner’ Steve McMahon to viewers every Monday night when Blackburn’s owners Venky’s asked him to become their head of football development for Asia last summer.
Straight talking: Singh will not change his outspoken style
Before leaving a 15-year career in television to move to Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, however, he asked his son Sonuljit, 22, for his opinion.
‘He’s my go-to man,’ says Singh. ‘We were having a chat about this and he said, “do you know what you’ve done? You’ve walked into the most impossible job in the world!”.
‘That’s my son’s opinion of it. Yes, it’s a big challenge but the bigger the better. It’s better to have tried and failed than never have tried at all, that’s always been the way I approach life.
‘Please call me a student of the game. I’m not an expert or a guru, I’m still learning the game. Football is my passion, my vocation, my hobby, my everything.’
Singh’s honesty might attract controversy but it’s a breath of fresh air to the fans who have been desperate for better communication with their club since the Jack Walker Trust handed over control to India nearly two years ago.
He is well aware of the criticism of the Rao family and their matriarchal head Mrs Anuradha Desai – or ‘Madam’ who stood against her brothers and spared Kean the sack at the end of last season – but he insists the owners have learned from their painful introduction to English football.
Target: Blackburn Rovers' Norwegian midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen
‘I’ve come into this with my eyes wide open,’ says Singh. ‘We’re all aware of the situation but we don’t like to bring it up. That’s the promise I made to my bosses. It’s history. You can’t change history but you can influence the future.
‘Madam has watched me on TV, she knows what I was saying and thinking. I said things that had to be said, the same as what a lot of fans here think. Coming here is a progression, not a new start for me.
‘I’ve been sent by the family to get promotion. When I met with them this summer, Madam said, “Shebby, do what you have to do – I want promotion”. I recall the moment because that’s the motivation.’
Singh holds up his mobile phone to reveal the motto on his Blackberry Messenger. It reads: ‘Promotion or die trying’.
‘It’s as simple as that for me,’ adds the man who had an 18-year playing career for club and country in Malaysia. ‘Along the way if people get upset, if people think that’s the train they don’t want to be on then fine.’
Fresh start: Blackburn's new signing Dickson Etuhu (centre) during training
‘A lot of people have underestimated the family,’ he says. ‘They are here to stay. There is a way forward – it’s not the end of everything.
‘Yes, there’s a lot of a hurt which everybody feels and financially the club has been hit. It’s been painful and detrimental to their name and reputation, but there’s a stronger resolve now.
‘My bosses run a conglomerate, an empire. With their other business entities, they trust people they put in place to get results.
‘Right until the end last season I think the owners were possibly fearful of what might happen but they depended on the manager to have told them that.
‘I have shouldered a lot of the pressure but certain things only time will heal. Things like putting the squad together for Steve. I don’t think we could have done any better.
‘The club has come down, Steve was the man in charge and still is. We need to go back up. Now it’s time to step back because this is where the football begins. Team selection and tactics entirely belong to the manager, and we can only hope we get the right results.’
Blackburn might be out of the Premier League but, with Singh at the helm, it’s unlikely they will be out of the spotlight for long.
