HELPLESSNESS was the overriding emotion for Scott Dann last season as he was forced to watch his Birmingham City side suffer Premier League relegation from the sidelines.

A hamstring injury kept the centre back out for the business end of the season as the Blues were unable to avoid the drop into the Championship. He now finds himself right in the thick of a survival scrap.

Blackburn Rovers’ big money summer signing has not had the impact boss Steve Kean would have liked at Ewood Park, partly due to injury, with a poor defensive record condemning the club to a constant battle to beat the drop.

But, ahead of this evening’s crucial visit of Liverpool, Dann is determined not to have a second consecutive relegation on his CV.

Dann said: “I was injured for the end of last season for Birmingham and I was unable to do anything about it. It was hard having to watch it.

“It is hard to say whether the mood in the camp was any different between then and now because, like I said, I was on the side of it all.

“All I can say is now, we are all determined to get the results we need to get out of this. We believe we can as well and that positive feel can help us.”

Liverpool arrive in East Lancs this evening on a horrendous run of form that has seen them win just once in their last nine Premier League matches.

Dann said: “We know Liverpool are having a tough time at the minute, but that doesn't take away that they have a lot of quality and are a top team.

"But we've just got to concentrate on our own performance and make sure that everyone of us who is selected to play is up for it.

"We need to get the three points. We are looking forward to Tuesday now and we need a win to get us going again.

“I think even though we have lost on Saturday, we are still really confident we can get out of it. We are going into the liverpool game thinking we are going to beat them, even though we have had some bad results lately.

“I think in the Premier League you never know what can happen,” said Dann. “One week you can lose at home to a team you are expected to beat and the next week you can go away and beat a team that you aren’t expected to beat.

“That is what makes the league what it is, every game from now to the end of the season is a challenge and we'll be trying as hard as we can to get as many points.”