A DEFIANT Steve Kean is confident he will still be Blackburn Rovers boss next season despite seeing a dire 1-0 home defeat to Wigan condemn them to Premier League relegation.

Although subject to the Ewood Park anger for 90 minutes, Kean vowed he would be going nowhere after Antolin Alcaraz's 87th minute winner.

He said: "I will sit down with the owners and discuss a plan to assemble a squad to get us to bounce back into the Premier League.

"We need to try to keep the majority of the squad together. I do believe I will be here next season.

"I am a big believer in my own ability and I have great belief in this squad. It is difficult to take though."

Of the relegation, Kean added: "It's very, very disappointing for all of us. The effort the players have put in from the first minute to the last can't be faulted.

"This season we have always been able to score goals but when you look at it I think we have not been able to keep it as tight at the back as we would have liked.”

Kean said that he would not fault the players' efforts but that it had been a very young squad and he added: "We have lost a huge amount of experience of players with almost 1,000 games behind them."

He added: “The atmosphere in the dressing room is one of total disappointment from all the players and staff but we have to bounce back from this and go forward from this point.”

Meanwhile, Bradley Orr declared he was speaking for the entire Rovers' dressing room when he said the blame for relegation lies with the players and not Kean.

Rovers sunk out of the top flight on a night of protests and ill feeling towards Kean and club owners Venky's.

"The manager has taken a lot of things that he shouldn't have had to," said Orr. "Ever since I have been here at this club the manager has had us geared up and working towards staying in the league.

"For whatever reason we have fallen short. It is not through a lack of effort.

"But I speak for the whole of the dressing room when I say that the buck stops with us."

Orr admitted he never saw relegation coming when he moved to Ewood Park from Queens Park Rangers and he added: "I am devastated. It is the worst feeling I have ever had.

"But I am also devastated for Steve Kean.

"I would also say that everyone at the club would be happy if he was here next season."