BLACKBURN Rovers owners Venky’s insist Steve Kean has still got their ‘100 per cent backing’ after vehemently denying weekend reports the manager was set for the sack.

Saturday’s controversial 3-2 defeat at Fulham leaves Rovers just two points from the Premier League drop zone, sparking claims in a national newspaper yesterday that Kean was on the brink of the bullet after being called to emergency talks in London on Saturday night.

Venky’s though told the Lancashire Telegraph yesterday there was no substance “at all” to the growing speculation and insisted there were no plans to fire their manager for the second time in just three months.

A spokesman for the poultry giants added Venky’s chairman Anuradha Desai was not even in London for talks over the weekend and that she was still in Pune, India.

Kean’s absence from the team coach leaving Craven Cottage on Saturday added fuel to the growing rumours among worried supporters but, still with connections in London, nothing should be read into that.

The club’s co-owners are understood to be growing increasingly concerned about the club’s perilous Premier League position but don’t believe another managerial change would help the situation.

Saturday’s spirited display at Fulham will only have strengthened their belief Rovers will lift themselves out of their current slump, a six-match winless run, with relegation an unthinkable prospect for the new owner’s long term plans.

Neither Mrs Desai or her brothers Venkatesh Rao and Balaji Rao were available for comment yesterday but a spokesman for the owners was adamant they were still behind the man they chose to replace Sam Allardyce.

A Venky’s spokesman, said: “We don’t know why people keep writing these things or where they come from. I can say that speculation is wrong.

“We are happy to say Steve Kean still has our 100 per cent backing and there has been nothing like that going on at all.

"Mrs Desai has been in India, not London.”

Kean signed a two-year deal as manager of Rovers in January with Mrs Desai insisting at the time he would be safe in his job for the duration of that deal, whatever happened.

She said: “Steve Kean will be safe in his job for the duration of that contract, whatever happens. I guarantee that.

“Without stability you cannot have success and this provides stability. It’s the way we work.”

The owners remain confident Rovers can record victory against Blackpool in a fortnight at Ewood to ease fears of the drop, with them believing a united front from the club can spark a reversal in fortunes.

Kean is coming under increasing fire from large sections of the supporters but Saturday’s heart breaking late defeat at Fulham eased any fears he had lost his players support, after a performance full of character and heart.