Roberts pleased by Rovers attitude

25 November 2009 07:53
Rovers assistant manager Neil McDonald will take Allardyce's place in the dugout again at Fulham on Wednesday.[LNB]McDonald took over first-team affairs at the weekend after tests revealed Allardyce - who has complained of chest pains in recent weeks - requires an angioplasty, a procedure which involves widening a narrowed coronary artery.[LNB]The players only discovered the news last Friday that Allardyce would miss the next three games, but after responding with a 2-0 victory at local rivals Bolton two days later, Roberts believes the squad has shown their professionalism.[LNB]"I think the biggest compliment we could pay was that it didn't affect our preparations too much - the other staff stepped in and it was seamless," Roberts said.[LNB]"We had a meeting on Friday and spoke about it and we knew what was going to happen on Saturday in terms of our game-plan and the fact that he (Allardyce) wasn't going to be there.[LNB]"It's always difficult when the manager is not there, but we have got some personalities in the dressing room. We knew how important it was and we pushed ourselves on.[LNB]"There were a few things (to think about) going into the game - obviously it was a local derby and also we hadn't had an away result for a while, so it was big for us.[LNB]"We were very happy with the result and I think we played quite well."[LNB]The victory brought to an end a sequence of 10 successive away defeats in the league for Blackburn and Roberts thinks the team is now ready to put the statistic well and truly behind them.[LNB]"It was a hard stat to take in really," Roberts said.[LNB]"But we have got that off our backs now, we go to Craven Cottage and we are hopeful to get some points there as well.[LNB]"We know they (Fulham) are a good side - I think they are underrated.[LNB]"They are a side that are performing well at home, they are strong and they have some good players so we know it is going to be tough.[LNB]"But we have to believe in ourselves at the moment. We are showing decent form, so we need to take that into the game."[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk