AN anxious John Williams has set Rovers a nine-win survival target as Paul Ince’s managerial future at Ewood Park remains in the balance.

The Rovers chairman admits time is ticking on their Premier League status but remains defiant they can still lift themselves out of their current relegation turmoil.

Talks surrounding Ince’s position will continue this week, with some board members growing increasingly concerned at their perilous position, but the Rovers boss is set to be handed another chance to save his job at Wigan on Saturday.

Encouragement was drawn from the manner of Saturday’s battling defeat to Liverpool but a sixth straight defeat at the JJB Stadium this weekend could spell the end of Ince’s short reign.

Rovers are yet to make any firm decision on the Guv’nor’s future either way but sources at Ewood reveal he should remain in the hot seat until at least after the weekend Ince though retains the backing of his players and a positive result at Wigan, followed by crucial games against Stoke and Sunderland, could yet revive Rovers’ season and his own managerial future.

Williams said: “Nine wins is our priority and we need to get them as soon as we can. We have 22 games left and the sooner we start picking up the wins the better the situation will look.

“We have to start winning because the longer we go without a win the more difficult it becomes for us to get those wins we need.

“The players and the manager believe our fortunes will change once we get that first win, but we all know we need that win quickly.

“At the moment, nine wins from 22 looks more than possible. But if we go a few more games still needing nine wins it looks more and more difficult doesn’t it?”

Williams has received a flurry of emails and letters from worried fans over the past fortnight and he has again promised the board will act in the best interests of the club.

In a reply to one such concerned fan he reflected on the financial battle Rovers are currently facing but insisted they could still defy the odds.

He said: “Although money isn't everything it certainly helps. If we could have given Mark Hughes more money he might have still been here. We gave him everything we possibly could working our bank borrowings to the absolute maximum.

“But without substantial financial support from owners the Rovers/Premier League preposition is a difficult one.

“Nevertheless, we have managed for the last eight seasons and the current decline is very worrying. At the end of September we were 7th.

“The Board has always acted in the best interests of the club and I think you know and appreciate that. Nothing changes.”