Blackburn Rovers FC

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• Founded:1875
• Manager:Steve Kean

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Ince puts priority on points

11 Nov 2008 - 12:53:33

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Blackburn boss Paul Ince insists he would prefer to win this weekend's Premier League clash against Sunderland rather than Wednesday's Carling Cup encounter with Roy Keane's side.

Victory would leave Rovers in the last eight of the competition, but Ince is determined to focus all his attention on lifting his side clear of any relegation danger.

He said: "Saturday is the bigger game. Saturday is the bread and butter.

"Of course if we win on Wednesday we get the psychological edge on Saturday but getting the points on Saturday is more important than getting through to the next round.

"We want to win the game and want to do well. We just want to win a game now.

"We've had a few draws but haven't won one for a while and it's a chance to get back to winning ways, and I'm sure my mate Keano is thinking the same thing.

"But I'm sure there will be a bit of cat and mouse, guessing what team each other is going to put out on Wednesday and Saturday but we go into the game thinking we can actually win it."

Roque Santa Cruz will definitely miss the match with a calf strain while Keith Andrews, Andre Ooijer and Brett Emerton may also fail to recover from injuries in time to feature.

Elsewhere, Australia midfielder Vince Grella has been ruled out for four weeks with a hamstring injury.