PAUL INCE'S short-lived career as Blackburn manager ended yesterday when he was fired after a run of 11 Premier League matches without a win left the club in the relegation zone.

Although Ince started with three wins in his first six league games, Rovers have lost six straight and are now five points from safety in 19th place with the league's worst defence and facing another costly demotion to the second tier.

Three-year contract cut

Ince was just six months into a three-year contract that made him the first black Briton to coach a Premier League team, but his fate seemed decided after chairman John Williams criticised the team's performance in Saturday's 3-0 loss at Wigan.

Blackburn decided to dismiss Ince at a board meeting Monday.

"Three wins in 17 games has seen a squad, which finished seventh last season, fall to 19th position," Williams said in a statement yesterday. "We are currently in real danger of becoming detached from the pack.

"The survival of the club in the Premier League is paramount and our focus now is on finding a replacement, who will be able to maintain our top-division status."