Kean vows to fight on after relegation

08 May 2012 06:17

Blackburn boss Steve Kean went down fighting on Monday night, vowing to bounce back as his team were relegated from the Barclays Premier League following a 1-0 defeat to Wigan

The Scot, who has withstood protests throughout Rovers' miserable season, wants to stay on despite the vitriol and is convinced controversial owners Venky's will continue to back him.

Kean said: "I will sit down with the owners and discuss a plan on how to assemble a squad to help us bounce back up straight away. We need to try to keep the majority of the squad together and add one or two experienced players that can help us, so from the first game of the season we are ready to bounce back and make sure we are in the division we should be in."

He added: "It is difficult to put into words what the atmosphere is like in the dressing room. A few things were thrown our way in the media last week, questioning our attitude, but I felt tonight we gave it a real good go. The disappointing thing is we couldn't take it to the last game."

Rovers' demise overshadowed Wigan's superb effort in ensuring their own safety.

Antolin Alcaraz's headed winner three minutes from time capped a magnificent upturn in fortunes which has seen Latics win six of their last eight games.

Roberto Martinez's men now have 40 points and cannot be caught with just one game remaining.

The Spaniard said: "It was incredible. It is an incredible achievement. We had to cope with the mental side of things today. For Blackburn and ourselves it was a tough game. We saw all the results come in yesterday and for the players today it was a tough event to be involved in.

"I thought mentally we coped really well. We weren't our normal fluent selves. Blackburn made it difficult for us, but to come here and hold our nerve - and not panic - shows a real mature side of the squad."

Source: PA