HENNING Berg has called for his Blackburn Rovers side to give their fans some much-needed festive cheer today – after hailing their “passionate” support as “fantastic”.

Rovers are expecting a healthy following for this afternoon’s Boxing Day trip to Middlesbrough and boss Berg is hoping to deliver the perfect Christmas present to the club’s long-suffering supporters.

The Rovers faithful have been vocally critical of their side’s recent Championship slump, with just one win in nine games, but Berg insists he has no complaints at all about their support.

He said: “We were hoping to give the fans some Christmas cheer on Saturday. We were not allowed to and of course we are looking to go there to get points and win the game.

“We want a really good performance and if we have a good team performance and play up to our best then we will have a really good chance of winning, even playing against one of the better teams.

“Our supporters have been fantastic. I like the supporters, I like that they are emotional, that they show their emotions, that they care for the team.

“I think they have supported us all the way through and at the end of games when we are losing, there are going to be some people who voice their disappointment.

“That is understandable. We are disappointed as well. That is just human nature.

“I like their passion and I like that they care, I like that they support the team all the way through the games, even though sometimes they do get frustrated.”

Rovers know they face a tough task in their bid to revive their flagging promotion hopes, with today’s hosts flying high in fourth place in the Championship.

But, despite losing four of their last five games, Berg is adamant Rovers are a match for anyone if they play to their best.

He said: “All games are different.

“We have played some tough games away from home and they have been even games. They have at home as well but we just haven’t been able to win these games.

“We have not been good enough in the final thirds in both ends of the pitch and that is something we are working on and something we are looking at.

“We have had some tough fixtures over the last month so we are looking forward to playing Middlesbrough and we know it will be a tough game again.

“There are no games in this league that are unwinnable for us, but we have to make sure we keep our focus and do the right things, improving what is not as good as we would like to be.”