EPL: Wigan Send Rovers to Championship

Blackburn Rovers manager, Steve Kean

Blackburn have been relegated to the Championship after losing at home to Wigan, whose Premier League status is secure for next season.

Antolin Alcaraz headed the Latics to victory from a corner late in a rainy and rancorous night at Ewood Park, reports the BBC.

Only a win would have given Rovers a chance of avoiding the drop but they were sloppy and shot-shy.

The visitors were lively in the first half, less so in the second, but took their chance to claim another big win.

It is a remarkable sixth win in eight games for the Latics and leaves them five points clear of the relegation zone with just one game left to play.

The result brings about a disastrous end to what has been a turbulent season for Blackburn and their manager Steve Kean.

The Scot has regularly been the focal point for abuse from frustrated Rovers fans, unhappy with his management and the way the club is being run by the owners, Indian poultry firm Venky's.

This continued Monday night in the form of mass chanting throughout, a lone fan invading the pitch at the start of the second half and, presumably, the reason why a chicken draped in a Blackburn flag appeared in the Wigan box five minutes into the game and had to be caught by Latics keeper Ali Al-Habsi.

Blackburn are the only former Premier League champions that have been relegated. They have suffered this fate twice. In 1999, they made the descent to the second tier, where they stayed for two seasons before returning to the top flight in 2001-2002.

The goal heightened calls for Kean's sacking and the exit of Venky's, which only increased when the final whistle blew to confirm Rovers' fate.

Six weeks ago, Venky's looked set to be rewarded for sticking with Kean when he led them six points clear of the drop zone following a win over Sunderland on March 20, but a disastrous run of seven defeats in eight games since then has cost the club.

The Latics success is testimony to their manager Roberto Martinez, who has stuck to his passing principles, and owner Dave Whelan, who never waivered in his loyalty to the Spaniard despite the threat of relegation.