Steve Kean was left too open to criticism during Blackburn Rovers' plunge into relegation, according to former striker Kevin Gallacher.

Kean's dismal season reached its nadir as Rovers were condemned to relegation from the Barclays Premier League by a 1-0 defeat against Wigan at Ewood Park on Monday night. Kean was the subject of taunts and banners from disgruntled fans throughout a rancorous match which Rovers needed to win to have any hope of survival.

Yet again there were anti-Kean demonstrations after the game but, while Gallacher feels the manager must be accountable for bad results, he thinks he has been unfairly exposed by owners Venky's.

"The fans have been so used to having a chairman facing things up and taking things away from the owners, and there is nobody doing that now," said Gallacher. "They need to get someone into the club that is there. Unfortunately the only person that can do that is Steve Kean, so he is getting battered from pillar to post for basically doing a chairman's role while not getting the results on the pitch."

Rovers have fallen into decline since their takeover by Indian poultry giants Venky's in November 2010.

"There is no communication, that is hard to take for the fans. They want to have a say but feel there is nobody there to listen," added Gallacher, a member of the title-winning side of 1995. "Steve has said he will be here next season, but I don't know how that is going to happen. I've seen how he works internally – it is good – but it is about results. Not many managers have stayed in a job with the results Steve has put in front of everybody. But he is the only one communicating with the owners. The next conversation will be a very strange one."