Steve Kean confident Blackburn Rovers can still avoid relegation

[admin]

<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/45947?ns=guardian&pageName=Steve+Kean+confident+Blackburn+Rovers+can+still+avoid+relegation%3AArticle%3A1731026&ch=Football&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Blackburn+Rovers+%28Football+club%29%2CSteve+Kean+%28football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified%2CPremier+League&c6=Press+Association&c7=12-Apr-13&c8=1731026&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FBlackburn+Rovers" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">• Blackburn go to Swansea after four successive defeats<br />• 'We're still confident we can get into a good position'</p><p>Steve Kean is confident Blackburn Rovers have more than enough time to get out of trouble as they bid to end a run of four successive Premier League defeats at Swansea on Saturday.</p><p>Back-to-back victories over Wolves and Sunderland last month looked to have taken Kean's side to the verge of safety but they have failed to pick up a point since and other teams have taken advantage.</p><p>Blackburn's loss to Liverpool on Tuesday, coupled with wins for QPR and Wigan the following day, means Rovers head to the Liberty Stadium three points from safety with five games remaining, which include away matches at Tottenham and Chelsea.</p><p>Kean said: "We've worked on the bits we feel we can improve on and we'll go down to Swansea and try to do the double over them.</p><p>"They've got a very good home record but we know if we can get a clean sheet and a victory, and then match what we did against Wolves and Sunderland, where we had back-to-back victories and back-to-back clean sheets, then the whole table changes again. We're still confident we can get into a good position."</p><p>Swansea have been one of the success stories of this season but they have struggled in recent weeks and also go into the match on a run of four straight defeats.</p><p>"At the moment they're not as fluid, they've obviously picked up a couple of defeats," said Kean, who guided his team to a 4-2 victory over the Swans at Ewood Park in December.</p><p>"We've got to think about how we went about the first game, what was successful, what we can improve on over the last few weeks and put that together. I think it's a good time to go there."</p><p>Tuesday's match in many ways typified Rovers' rollercoaster season, with Ayegbeni Yakubu missing a penalty following the first-half dismissal of the Liverpool goalkeeper Alexander Doni, but then levelling at 2-2 with a spot-kick only for Andy Carroll to score an injury-time winner.</p><p>Kean credited the stand-in keeper Brad Jones for second-guessing his former Middlesbrough colleague Yakubu and confirmed the striker will retain penalty-taking duties.</p><p>The Scot said: "What slightly affected Yakubu is he knows their goalkeeper from a previous club and he played it very well, he waited and he knows Yakubu's style of penalty taking.</p><p>"I'm sure other goalkeepers will be trying to work him out but he's been very successful up to that one he missed. He was confident, he wanted to take it and he practises them regularly so, if he's confident, then he'll be on them."</p><p>Kean, meanwhile, could recall the defender Gaël Givet for Saturday's match. The Frenchman, who has been linked with a return to his home country this summer, has been unable to get back into the side after a hamstring injury.</p><p>"He's training well, he's available for this game," said the Rovers manager. "I'm sure he'll be disappointed he hasn't been back in the side earlier but we felt the partnership with Grant Hanley and Scott Dann deserved another few matches together.</p><p>"Gaël's back in contention and, wherever he's picked, he'll always give his all and we want to have him here."</p><p>Blackburn's only fitness doubts for the match are the defenders Bradley Orr and Martin Olsson, who have been struggling with achilles and groin problems respectively.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blackburn">Blackburn Rovers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/steve-kean">Steve Kean</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/vAKKBZCeTTDXn6C-AC2B424TLXE/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/vAKKBZCeTTDXn6C-AC2B424TLXE/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/>
<a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/vAKKBZCeTTDXn6C-AC2B424TLXE/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/vAKKBZCeTTDXn6C-AC2B424TLXE/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/theguardian/football/rss/~4/_4Tx_7hp4dc" height="1" width="1"/>

More...