Blackburn Rovers are set to announce the departure of John Park this week, The Lancashire Telegraph understands.

The former Birmingham City, Rangers and Celtic recruitment specialist is expected to depart Ewood Park, a little more than five months after returning to the club.

To leave after such a short period raises understandable questions. The Head of Recruitment title has resembled something of a revolving door over the last two years.

Park was handed that position in a restructure of the behind-the-scenes operation. That was alongside Rudy Gestede, who took over as Head of Football Operations, assuming most of Gregg Broughton's responsibilities, who was Director of Football.

However, some of those were allocated to Adam Owen, who would later arrive as Head of Technical. Throw in John Eustace, head coach, Steve Waggott, Chief Executive, and you've got plenty of voices in the mix. That's before we consider needing sign-off from Venky's.

Blackburn Rovers' summer recruitment was a slow process. Gestede himself admitted that this summer was a one-off in terms of preparation and the flurry in which players were acquired, two blocks of five. Having not entered the building formally until June, the newly assembled transfer team were playing catch-up.

But there was also dithering within that, it's understood. Throughout July and August, names would be leaked into the public domain. Now that's not uncommon but as a reporter, you do your due diligence. You speak to agents, contacts and people you trust. The messages coming back were consistent.

'Yeah, X really likes him but X isn't sure'. 'They're interested but X also fancies X'. You get the picture. A lot of opinions, a lot of contrasting views. Recruitment is hard enough as it is.

There was a perception, which grew as the window progressed, that there were too many cooks. A lot of new faces that are keen to make their mark. That can only lead to a power struggle, which, over time, causes friction and has a breaking point.

Rovers dragged their feet on several decisions for weeks. Kyle McFadzean and Danny Batth were left in limbo as they pursued Liam Cooper, only to fall down on finances.

Siriki Dembele, a target endorsed by Eustace, was available for a modest six-figure fee. But others had reservations. Rovers didn't push the button, Oxford United swooped in and we approach January with the squad still lacking genuine speed on the flanks.

On the flip side, Rovers might not have found Yuki Ohashi without a team with such a breadth of contact. It was Owen, whose remit is not specifically linked to recruitment, who brought that name to the table via an agent.

Whilst the summer window ended with ten new faces and a relatively content fan base, it was not a smooth operation. That was, partly, down to the timing of the restructure but also the to-and-fro over targets.

So it is not a huge shock that someone has left the picture. Park has enjoyed a successful but fairly nomadic career of late. He follows Gus Williams and Sean Kimberley out of the door since 2022 from the Head of Recruitment role.

When Park last worked at the club, the personnel was far more streamlined. It was Tony Mowbray, Park and Waggott working with their team to identify talent. Losing someone of his experience is a big blow. Broughton wanted to keep Park at the club when he arrived but his loyalty to Mowbray saw him depart too.

It will be interesting to see Rovers' next move. Do they replace him? Or entrust Gestede, who is learning the trade, to lead proceedings without a more experienced head alongside him?

With the January transfer window approaching, it is not ideal timing and a gamble I'm sure the club would have preferred not to make.