Jansen warns Blackburn Rovers: Don't fail like we did

8:53am Tuesday 9th February 2010

By Andy Cryer

EWOOD Park favourite Matt Jansen has called for Blackburn Rovers’ class of 2010 to ‘keep their bottle’ after warning them not to let relegation history repeat itself.

Jansen was a member of the Rovers squad that suffered the Premier League drop in 1999, after a disastrous late season collapse, and he believes tomorrow’s visit of Hull is crucial if Sam Allardyce’s current squad are to banish fears of any similar slump.

Rovers do not figure highly on most people’s lists for relegation, as they currently sit in 12th position in the Premier League and seven points clear of the bottom three, but Jansen knows any talk of safety is premature.

Brian Kidd’s Rovers side were in a similar position back in 1999 but just one win and 11 points from their last 14 games saw them finish six points adrift of safety and relegated to the Championship.

Former Rovers striker Jansen, 32, remains confident Allardyce’s men will comfortably survive and can look forward to a brighter future but warns home games against Hull and Bolton in the next fortnight could yet prove pivotal.

He said: “It only takes a couple of games to be dragged right back into trouble and Rovers will know that going into these two very important home games.

“I think people thought we would be okay in 1998/99 but once our bad run started, the pressure just built up and built up and you just started thinking ‘where is the next win going to come from’.

“You are always looking at that forty point mark to ensure safety and until you get there, the nerves will be jangling.

"I actually think it will only take about 37 points to stay up, but you can’t know that.

"We found that back when we were relegated and I suppose results show we didn’t respond very well. It is hard to get yourselves out of a slump.”

Jansen though, who was at Ewood to see Rovers win over Fulham last month, has belief in Allardyce’s Rovers reign and is predicting some better times ahead.

He added: “Sam Allardyce has got a lot of very promising youngsters coming through into the first team and they will all be better for this experience come next season.

“You need experience at this time of the season and Rovers have that, but they have also some good young players which suggests the future is looking good.”