Blackburn Rovers have appointed Jon Dahl Tomasson as the new manager of their men’s first team squad.
In a strong 19-year playing career between 1992-2011, Dahl Tomasson has played for several European clubs including Newcastle United, where he scored four goals in 35 appearances during 1997-98 season before he was sold to Feyenoord.
Dahl Tomasson eventually retired in 2011 and moved into coaching where he had spells at Netherlands’ Excelsior and Roda during 2013-14 season, before becoming assistant manager at Vitesse Arnhern then Denmark between 2015-20 when he was appointed manager of Malmo.
During his time at Malmo, Dahl Tomasson guided the club to consecutive Allsvenskan titles before departing of his own accord in December 2021, before proceeding to successfully pass two interviews to secure the Blackburn Head Coach role.
Rovers have confirmed that Dahl Tomasson will be joined at Ewood Park by assistant coach – Remy Reijnierse and Performance Director – Ben Rosen, with Rosen working closely with current coaches – David Lowe, Damien Johnson and Ben Benson.
Speaking about his decision to become Head Coach and succeed Tony Mowbray as manager at Ewood Park, Dahl Tomasson confessed to feeling “really proud and excited” to take up the position, with the club currently possessing “great ambition” for the future.
Dahl Tomasson however iterated that patience of supporters will be crucial in the long-term plans for his reign following his decision to sign a three-year contract until June 2025, as he said:
“We have a young team here, and also a great Academy, and the Owners have a clear vision, which is to develop players and become a sustainable Premier League club over time, so I’m really happy to be involved in this exciting new chapter for the club.”
The 45 year-old manager also added that he had been “looking for the right club” since leaving Malmo, as he added that he had received several offers from various club over recent months.
Dahl Tomasson isn’t new to English football after his spell at Newcastle as a player and believes that the “passion” of “special football fans” in the country makes this move an exciting prospect, although he admitted that the Championship will pose “a great challenge,” given its competitiveness.
Once pre-season is underway, Dahl Tomasson will be working with a strong squad including Bradley Dack and Ben Brereton Diaz amongst others, with the Danish manager looking to be able “to show a direction” for staff and players towards success with teamwork being a key part of his vision.
Rovers CEO, Steve Waggot added that the managerial recruitment process was “long” but is happy to secure Dahl Tomasson, who he described as a “young and ambitious” manager.
Explaining the club’s decision to appoint Dahl Tomasson, Waggot said: “His work around developing players, along with demanding a culture of giving everything to the club, is exactly what we need at this juncture.
“His passion, purpose and humility shone through in his interviews and we obviously have high hopes that he will build on the platform that has been established over the last five years.”
Across his playing career at seven different clubs including two spells at Feyenoord, Dahl Tomasson netted 236 goals in 578 appearances, as well as 52 goals in 112 international appearances for Denmark between 1997-2010.
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