Blackburn Rovers Football Club

• Nickname:Rovers
• Founded:1875
• Manager:Michael Appleton

• Ground:Ewood Park
• Capacity:31367

Rovers earn Hughes praise

12 Feb 2008 - 08:39:30

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Blackburn Rovers boss Mark Hughes was full of praise for his players after their spirited display in the 2-0 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Hughes felt that his side had reacted well after falling behind early on and worked the Gunners hard for a victory which took them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

"I thought we showed a lot of belief in the game plan that we had," Hughes told his club's official website. "We got the ball down and passed it and were really progressive in our approach and caused them a few problems.

"We had a number of opportunities, certainly in that first half where we could have possibly got back on level terms.

"Second half we were always trying to get our passing game going again and it was only towards the end when we had a few tired legs out there and unfortunately we conceded one right at the death.

"But overall I'm delighted with the manner of the performance, there are not many teams try to come here and try and take Arsenal on in a passing game, but I thought we matched them in that respect.

"I feel we put on a decent performance, we played the game in the right way, we came close, but we weren't quite good enough in the end."