Allardyce commented that he had received numerous applications for the first team coaching position and Kean "stood out above the rest through his personality, experience and knowledge of football at the highest level".

[10][11] Kean's appointment was shrouded in a great deal of controversy since his agent Jerome Anderson had earlier played a major role in advising Venky's during the takeover of the club in the preceding months.

[16] The new deal came after months of protests at the club in which fans campaigned to have Kean removed as Rovers manager as he had recorded just one league win all season.

[19][20] In December 2011, the local newspaper and MP Jack Straw joined the fans in calling for Kean's resignation ahead of a crucial home match with Bolton Wanderers.

[21] Another defeat concluded Kean's first 38 league games as Blackburn manager in which he had amassed just 32 points and left Rovers bottom of the table at Christmas.

[23][24] Results were somewhat improved in the second half of the season but five successive defeats in April dragged Rovers deep into relegation trouble again with Kean having recorded just 12 wins from his 55 league games since he took over.

On 7 May 2012, a home loss against Wigan Athletic relegated Blackburn Rovers to the Football League Championship and ended an eleven-year run in the top flight.

[28][29] Brunei led the 2014 S.League for the majority of the campaign but ended up finishing as runners up to Warriors FC following a 2–1 defeat to Tampines Rovers on the final day of the season.

[32] Kean was also appointed as the head coach of Brunei national football team for the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification tournament in Laos in October 2014.

[39][40] Kean became academy director of Scottish club Hibernian in November 2021, and was given the task of identifying youth players who could be promoted into the first team squad.

[43] In the latter competition, Hibs progressed through the first two rounds by defeating Norwegian side Molde FK[44] and French club Nantes before losing 2–1 to Borussia Dortmund in the knockout phase.