When West Brom fans look on Tony Mowbray’s stint at The Hawthorns, they will be disappointed with how his second spell there turned out.

Following Carlos Corberan’s move to childhood club Valencia during the winter season in 2024, Mowbray was brought in to exploit his knowledge and prior success in the second tier to keep Albion as play-off candidates.

However, following a recent fight of cancer, it appeared Mowbray had returned to the bench too soon, failing to galvanise the playing team and seeing his side sink down the Championship table as the season progressed.

The following April, Mowbray was dismissed of his duties following a 3-1 home defeat to Derby County, which destroyed the Baggies’ hopes of finishing in the top six, with the 62-year-old leading the club to only five wins in 18 games.

After such a difficult stint in the Black Country, Mowbray is returning to manager with another of his old employers, Blackburn Rovers, where he will succeed Michael O’Neill.

Speaking about his return to Lancashire, Mowbray opened up more about his time under West Brom control, admitting that there were issues that contributed to his brief stint in B71.

Tony Mowbray discusses West Brom ownership difficulties.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, Tony Mowbray stated that there were issues with the West Brom hierarchy when he took over at The Hawthorns, even implying that there were attempts to influence with the players he chose on matchday.

However, he is convinced that similar issues would not arise with the existing hierarchy at Ewood Park.

Mowbray stated, “My second experience at Albion was quite different from the owners’.

“A lot of no-see on recruitment, a lot of AI, trying to influence the selection of the team, etc.”Listen, I had a fantastic experience at West Bromwich Albion, and I will never speak negatively about the club. “This football team has a fantastic history.It was simply different. What I do know is that the ownership is the same as it was when I first started at West Bromwich. “It’s not different, but it was present.”Despite concerns about the football club’s ownership approach, I never had any troubles throughout my time there.I don’t recall hearing or reading anything negative about the proprietors during my time here, and they treat me extremely nicely. I hope they thought I did a decent job.When the phone rang, I believe they were seeking for someone to refocus their club on its goals.Football, I’ve discovered, is fundamentally about trust. I’ve recently had some difficult owners, who I know and trust.”

Tony Mowbray will seek to regain reputation at Blackburn Rovers.

There’s little doubt Tony Mowbray still has the managerial capacity to bring Championship success, given it was only three years ago that he led Sunderland into the play-offs with such an exciting and forward-thinking squad.

However, due to previous health concerns, he was unable to be a frequent face around Birmingham City while he was still recovering from a clean bill of health at West Brom, and he should not have committed to the post when he was not completely prepared for the challenge.

Some of his energy could have also been sapped by his troubles with the Albion hierarchy, since it appeared they were becoming overly involved in his own processes, which would have been taxing and could have contributed to much of their poor performance.

After leaving, Mowbray now requires complete support from Blackburn, and with the proper environment and quality playing squad, he could lead a promotion charge at Ewood Park and demonstrate his second-tier credentials once more.

It’s a significant chance for Mowbray to turn the tide late in his managing career, and Blackburn could be the ideal venue to do it considering his prior association with Rovers.