INJURIES COST BLACKBURN

After losing in the FA Cup quarter-final against Millwall, the Blackburn Rovers manager Michael Appleton has said that the team is short on quality due to the injuries and lack of form. Blackburn suffered an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Millwall. The club have the opportunity to play at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinals had they gone through. Now, the team has not only exited the competition, but they also have to face the fans wrath in the final league matches of the campaign. Blackburn have managed just two draws since the 1-0 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup.

Appleton said at that time that he wants the team to use this amazing victory as a confidence booster and kick on in the campaign. However, they have since lost all but two of their matches. As a result, the team has dropped into the 16th position in the table. Reaching the play-offs positions was one of the targets given to the manager Appleton, but the team are just six points above the relegation zone. The manager has said that he expects results to improve once he gets his first-team players back from injury. The team have to make use of the successive home matches in the league against Burnley and Blackpool in order to make up the ground.

“We are certainly lacking on numbers and we’re certainly lacking on quality at the minute. From a confidence point of view the boys are struggling a little but I think you can use that as an excuse. The whole mentality of the football club – in terms of taking it really personal and wanting to do something about it and put it right is really important. A victory against Burnley on Sunday will certainly go a long way to making me feel a lot better than I do and I’m sure it will be the same for the fans as well,” said Appleton.