"I don't care" - Simon Jordan slams John Eustace as he prepares to swap Blackburn Rovers for Derby County | OneFootball

Simon Jordan has given his view on reports that Blackburn Rovers manager John Eustace is set to take over at Derby County.

Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has criticised Blackburn Rovers manager John Eustace amid reports that he is set to leave the club to take over at Derby County.

Derby are on the hunt for a new manager following the sacking of Paul Warne on Friday, and it was revealed on Sunday that they have made an official approach for Eustace.

The Rams have reportedly activated the compensation clause of around £500,000 in Eustace's contract, and speaking after his side's 2-0 defeat to Wolves in the FA Cup on Sunday, the 45-year-old refused to shut down the possibility of a move to the Championship strugglers, who are languishing in the relegation zone.

Eustace took training as usual on Monday morning, but he is believed to have held talks with the Blackburn hierarchy this afternoon, and according to journalist Alex Crook, his appointment at Derby is now "imminent".

After taking over at Ewood Park almost exactly a year ago, Eustace kept Rovers in the second tier last season, and they currently sit sixth in the table after an excellent campaign, but he has now decided to walk away as he "did not feel properly supported by the club".

Simon Jordan reacts to John Eustace's imminent Blackburn Rovers exit

When asked about reports linking Eustace with a move to Derby, Jordan criticised his lack of commitment to Blackburn, claiming that unless the owners have broken promises made to him, there is little excuse for his expected departure.

"It depends what he was told at the beginning," Jordan said on talkSPORT.

"I'm not interested in his geographical situation because if he wants to go back to Derby because it's more convenient for his family, then what did he take the Blackburn job for?

"You were given an opportunity by Blackburn, you were harshly treated on the face of it at Birmingham, and you're a year into your job at Blackburn.

"He doesn't have a stellar management career, his results at Blackburn aren't stellar."

"John Eustace was at Birmingham, he was harshly treated in favour of Wayne Rooney, and he was given the Blackburn job," Jordan continued.

"He was given an opportunity - not the other way round - he was given the opportunity.

"He's been there a year and has got a 34% win record, they're in the top six of the division and going okay.

"If the owners have told him a pack of lies and completely misrepresented the situation, then he's entitled to have his view.

"My nose tells me that it's a manager who thinks he has an opportunity to kick on, despite what was agreed with the owners, hasn't got what he's wanted and now has another option.

"If part of it is geographical, I don't care where he lives, you're either committed to your job or you're not.

"If he's not committed to his job, then sod off and go and work for Derby."

Eustace was infamously sacked by Birmingham City last October with the club sitting sixth in the Championship table, and the decision was widely slammed by the football world, but Jordan believes he is now treating Blackburn in a similar way.

"I don't think that, by the look of this and the smell of this, anyone comes out of it particularly well," Jordan said.

"I don't know why they've got a release clause in there at such a small amount, but maybe that's just the nature of the Championship these days.

"He wants to go after a year, so the same thing that was done to him at Birmingham, he is potentially doing to Blackburn.

"It'll be dressed up as 'the poor manager hasn't been given something he's entitled to', and it's not like that a lot of the time.

"It's actually 'this is what we agreed and now you want something different because you think you're entitled to it', and because you're now the hero of the moment because we're doing moderately well, you can now leverage that."

Blackburn Rovers supporters will have mixed feelings about John Eustace departure

Given the impressive job Eustace has done at Ewood Park, there is no doubt it is a huge blow for Blackburn to lose him, and supporters will be gutted to see him depart.

With reports claiming Eustace is leaving because he did not feel supported by the Rovers hierarchy, it seems he has experienced similar transfer frustrations to his predecessors, Tony Mowbray and Jon Dahl Tomasson, and his exit is likely to reignite the long-standing anger towards the Venky's.

However, Eustace was given six new signings in the January transfer window, so it is perhaps not entirely fair to say that he was not backed, and Blackburn would have a right to feel let down by his decision to move on, particularly as he is joining a club sitting in the relegation zone.