Blackburn players ‘desperate’ to turn things around

Blackburn Rovers striker Yakubu has spoken of his desperation to help the team improve their form, something he hopes they can do to ease the pressure on manager Steve Kean.

The Rovers boss has been the subject of much criticism of course, with protests from the club’s fans asking for him to be removed from his position. As things stand, Blackburn sit rock bottom of the Premier League going into this weekend’s visit of Tottenham.

Yakubu – who scored twice against Arsenal on his debut – said: “We just have to stick together and do our job. In the end those fans will be with us again.”

“The protests do affect some players but I just concentrate on doing my job. There is always pressure when the team is not doing well."

"But the pressure isn't on the team when you're losing, it is always going to be put on the manager. All the players are behind Steve Kean."

“When he talks to us in training, we are impressed. It's our job to go out there and win - and that's all we focus on."

“We got a good draw against QPR last week and we will take that into our game against Tottenham. If fans stick together with us, we will be fine.”

You can certainly see why Yakubu has called on the fans to get behind the team. Things will get a lot worse before they get better if the atmosphere at Ewood Park remains as it is. At the moment, the management and players are fighting a losing battle.

It remains to be seen whether the former Portsmouth man’s rallying cry will make a difference, but it is positive for Kean that one of the more senior players in the team is showing him their support.

He wasn’t done there either, saying: “Steve Kean and the owners are big influences on me. Without them, I wouldn't have come here.”

"We have a young team with quality players. It's just about being patient. People should give Kean a chance to do his work and we will be fine.”

Unfortunately for Yakubu and Blackburn, football fans don’t have too much patience these days and in fairness to them, if Rovers are still in the relegation zone around Christmas time, a change surely has to be made?

With the new owners, those looking at mobile betting expected the team to move forward, not backwards. Therefore, unless everyone pulls together to turn things around in the next few weeks, a change may have to be made.

Three points against Tottenham at the weekend would be a massive boost and one which players, fans and the coaching staff, regardless of their various issues, would enjoy significantly.