Source: Team_Talk
Allardyce demanding improvement
Rovers travel to Villa in the FA Cup third round on Saturday for the first of three encounters with Martin O'Neill's side in the space of five matches.[LNB]With a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final against Villa to come before the end of January, Blackburn will be looking reproduce the form which saw them claim an impressive 2-1 win over the Midlanders in their Premier League meeting in September.[LNB]Having seen his team fight back from a goal down on that occasion despite being reduced to 10 men, Allardyce still rates the performance at Ewood Park as their best of the season.[LNB]Since then the two sides have experienced contrasting fortunes, with Villa challenging for a Champions League berth but Blackburn struggling for consistency.[LNB]Rovers currently lie 13th, with 21 points from 20 games, and Allardyce has called upon his players to up the ante for the second half of the campaign as they chase success in both the cup and league.[LNB]"It gave us huge encouragement for this season because it was so early on," Allardyce said.[LNB]"To produce a result against such a big side in the Premier League now - as we've seen Aston Villa go on from strength to strength and compete for one of those top four spots - we see how big a victory it was at the time.[LNB]"Unfortunately we haven't kicked on like they have. We have been very disappointed with our points total - not so much the performances, but certainly the points haven't reflected those performances.[LNB]"Villa have kicked on and gone to where they expected to go. We are not where I expected us to be, certainly on the performances we have given.[LNB]"We need to pick that up in January with a new year starting, and make sure we give our very best - particularly this month, because it is the biggest month of the season."[LNB]Blackburn have gone eight league matches without victory and Allardyce has urged several big-name players within his squad to start living up to their reputations.[LNB]Three of those singled out, Benni McCarthy, Morten Gamst Pedersen and El-Hadji Diouf, have responded by hitting the back of the net in the last two fixtures, but uncertainty continues to surround the future of McCarthy in particular, and Allardyce admitted he was unsure whether the South African would still be at the club after the transfer window had closed.[LNB]"I don't know to be honest with you - you don't know what turns up in January," Allardyce said.[LNB]"Somebody might decide that they are wanting one of our players, Benni or whoever it might be.[LNB]"You have to either stave it off or you have to accept it because the fee is acceptable to you. If that's the case then it's good business for the club."[LNB]Allardyce insisted that he would only move for players himself during the window if funds were made available by sales.[LNB]"We are comfortable with the squad we have got at the moment and we don't envisage that any new players will come in because the finances are not there," Allardyce said.[LNB]"I would expect if there were new signings to come in it would probably mean that we would have done some business out, to create the fund or the pot to bring somebody in.[LNB]"So we don't have to be up and active as we were last season when I first came here.[LNB]"If something appears to be right for the club and it would be a big signing for us the we will try and pursue it - if not, I'm happy with the squad we have got at the moment."[LNB][LNB] Aston Villa v Blackburn. Click here to bet.
