Black ; Players and myself not allowed excuses

Rovers temporary boss Eric Black has laid down the rule to the players and to himself – no excuses.

With Kean’s ‘resignation’ still ringing around Ewood Park it is fair to say there is a fair bit of uncertainty around Blackburn at the moment but with a tricky trip to Nottingham Forest on the horizon tonight the temporary gaffer wants to put it to the outside of the mindset to concentrate on the task in hand.

Black to the Lancashire Telegraph – “My focus is purely on Nottingham Forest at the moment and trying to get a positive outcome and then I will refocus on Wolves.

“I have been in this situation before and I don`t want anyone to use this as an excuse. I`m not. Judge me on what happens, if it`s one game, two games, whatever.

“Don`t use any excuse that the players are a little unsettled and in a bit of limbo after what has happened. I am not having any of that.

“They are professional players, they are resilient individuals and let`s see if they can perform.

“I`m not using this as an excuse. I managed at Motherwell and Coventry and was a caretaker at Birmingham and Sunderland.”

Black has also told of his way of dealing with the current situation after meeting with the club’s more senior players and thrashed out the way forward.

Black continued – “I took the nine senior players and spoke with them and told them where we are and they are very comfortable with what was happening.

“It is my responsibility to make sure the players aren`t knocked out of their stride and I am fully prepared to take on that responsibility.

“Some players will be unhappy, some will be happy, and all will carry on playing football. They will want to be in the team and they will be unhappy if they are not in the team.

“Footballers are a lot more resilient than you would believe and I don`t want this to be a reason for not performing.

“I think we have a settled group who know they can perform better. I`m not hiding behind that, we can perform better. But results wise the players have done extremely well for the club and we need to try and convey both. That is the challenge.”

He sounds sensible and very concise in his answers – which is a breath of fresh air after the last two years with you know who in charge.