Tony Mowbray: Blackburn Rovers confirm departure of boss after five years in charge

Tony Mowbray is leaving the club after five years.

The 58-year-old said last month that he was going to leave the club when his contract expired this summer.

After a bright start, the team faded and finished in eighth place in the Championship.

Steve Waggott said that Tony Mowbraybrought stability to the club and created a platform for his successor to build on.

It has been a wonderful experience to bring my values to a football club over a five-year period and to create an environment where people enjoy coming into work every day.

I thank everybody for coming along on the journey with me, it has been very rewarding.

After taking over from Owen Coyle, Tony Mowbray was unable to keep the club in the Championship, but he helped them return to the second tier at the first attempt.

The club fell away from the play-off race in his final season in charge, which ended with a 2-1 win against Birmingham on Saturday.

Analysis - 'Fans will appreciate Mowbray's stability'

Andy Bayes is a sport editor.

When he was in charge of the club, it was in worse shape than it is now.

It took 12 months for them to return to their Championship status, but they have never looked like dropping out again.

His recruitment has largely been successful with the likes of Bradley Dack, Adam Armstrong, Sam Gallagher and Ben Brereton Diaz impressing. He used the loan market with degrees of success, including Harvey, Tosin, Taylor, and Jan Paul van Hecke.

In recent weeks, he has stated that his work-life balance was key to him leaving the club, but he also stated that if he had been offered a new deal earlier this season, he would have signed it.

The two go their separate ways after two promising seasons were derailed by the drop in form from February onwards. Their four wins from the final 18 games saw them slip from second to eighth place.

The five years of stability and strong leadership that Mowbray brought to the club will be appreciated by a lot of fans.

He has been a manager in a traditional sense. It remains to be seen who will become the eighth manager appointed by owners.