Source: Team_Talk
Rovers skipper eyeing European place
lackburn skipper Ryan Nelsen has set his sights on Rovers securing a European place ahead of the new Premier Leaguie season.[LNB] After enjoying a stellar World Cup, in which New Zealand were the only team to return home unbeaten after drawing all three group games, the 33-year-old is now back at Ewood Park and preparing himself for Premier League battle once more.[LNB]Saturday's opener against Everton will provide an early indication of Blackburn's readiness for what lies ahead.[LNB]Manager Sam Allardyce is reasonably optimistic.[LNB]Although the Rovers chief is yet to make a new signing, he has managed to get most of his established players to commit their futures to the club, including star man Morten Gamst Pedersen and exciting young defender Phil Jones.[LNB]And, like his manager, Nelsen feels Blackburn have every reason to look forward with relish.[LNB]"We are well capable of qualifying for Europe," he said.[LNB]"We have good stability in the team. It is extremely obvious we need new people in certain positions but the stability that the signings of Morten Gamst Pedersen, Phil Jones and the rest bring is hugely important for the club."[LNB]A seemingly annual search for a striker has so far proved fruitless, leaving Rovers facing exactly the same problem that prevented them climbing higher than 10th last term.[LNB]Allardyce has played down the effect a potential takeover could have in the short-term, although Nelsen does not require a unique insight to understand just what a difference it would make to a club whose funding through the late Jack Walker has now virtually dried up.[LNB]"Money can cause disharmony and it can disrupt a team," he reflected. "It has to be spent wisely.[LNB]"But if you give a manager the option of having it or not, I know which one they would take. If it does come through, the manager will probably do a back flip.[LNB]"You have to expect that with the experience of John Williams and Sam Allardyce in the transfer market, they would not be reckless."[LNB]Nelsen is happy in the knowledge he cannot even take his own place for granted this term given Jones' emergence and the return to fitness of Christopher Samba.[LNB]But that just brings a smile to Nelsen's face.[LNB]Ever the pragmatist, he just wants what is best for the club.[LNB]"Competition is part of life," he said.[LNB]"I am not getting any younger and we have some incredibly good players.[LNB]"You get to a certain age where it is not about you any more, it is about the club you play for.[LNB]"I love to see good young kids progressing. If I have to sit in the reserves for the rest of the season and Blackburn win, I will be happy."
