Rhodes wants Rovers to be 'brave' in attack (From Lancashire Telegraph)
When news happens, text LT and your photos and videos to 80360. Or contact us by email or phone.
Rhodes wants Rovers to be 'brave' in attack
7:18am Thursday 20th September 2012 in Football
By Chris Flanagan, Sports reporter
Rhodes wants Rovers to be 'brave' in attack
JORDAN Rhodes is eager to help Blackburn Rovers prolong their unbeaten start to the season – but knows they will have to risk losing on occasions to get the victories they need to stay top of the Championship.
Rhodes found the net on his home debut to help Rovers maintain top spot with a 2-1 win over Barnsley on Tuesday and Steve Kean’s side have not been defeated in six league games this season.
It is the club’s longest unbeaten run at the start of a campaign since they won the Premier League in 1994/95, when they went seven games without a loss – a run that could be matched tomorrow when they host Middlesbrough in front of the Sky TV cameras.
Record signing Rhodes was part of a Huddersfield side that went 43 league games undefeated between January and November last year, setting a new Football League record.
But the Terriers still missed out on promotion in 2010/11 and were only second in the table when their 18-match unbeaten start to last season came to an end.
Boss Lee Clark was sacked three months later and it was only under Simon Grayson that they finally achieved promotion from League One via the play-offs.
Rovers have rarely been at their best in the opening games of the season and Tuesday’s result could have been different had Marlon Harewood not missed a fine chance for Barnsley at 1-1.
But Rhodes said: “We’re still unbeaten and we’ve taken six points in the last two games, so life’s good.
“We’re top of the league and I don’t think there’s too much to be concerned about just yet.
“We did have a great unbeaten run when I was at Huddersfield, under Lee Clark at the time.
“To have experienced that is something that will probably go down on my CV.
“To play in a team that is unbeaten, it’s not the be all and end all of things though, sometimes you want to go out in an attacking mind frame and try to win games rather than draw them.
“We’ll just to try to go out and win every game, and give it our best shot for Blackburn Rovers.
“Yes, it’s good to stay unbeaten and it looks good on the record.
“But I’m sure if you ask anyone associated with Blackburn Rovers, if it was three, four, five or even 10 defeats, if we finish in that number one position at the end of the season I’m sure no-one will be too bothered about the losses.”
Rhodes has now netted three goals in his first three games for Rovers since making the £8m move from Huddersfield – already surpassing the tally that Kevin Davies, one of the club’s previous record signings, managed in his entire time at Ewood.
His smart strike against Barnsley came in front of watching Scotland boss Craig Levein, who is under pressure to include the 22-year-old in his starting line-up for a World Cup qualifier in Wales next month.
But Rhodes’ focus right now is on Rovers and trying to keep them top of the table.
“We’ll try to stay top, we’ll give it our best shot,” he said.
“It’s nice to score any goal and just to see the ball hit the net on Tuesday was really pleasing.
“It’s nice for the manager (Levein) to come down and show interest, that’s pleasing.
“I’m pleased that I managed to get on the scoresheet while he was watching.
“But I’m still young and there are still plenty of good players for him to choose from, so I’m not counting on anything just yet.”
Comments are closed on this article.

Comments (39)
7:40am Thu 20 Sep 12
alphajono says...
8:47am Thu 20 Sep 12
John Bumhead says...
8:52am Thu 20 Sep 12
bburnrover says...
We are at home and our beloved manager decides to play one striker alone up front with a team that contains no pace in midfield only Ollsson was quick enough to get forward down the wing.I cannot understand what Pederson does as he rarely scores and cannot run does not possess any speed and seems to make so any errors by miss passing the ball or just booting it forward into no mans land when he panics.I do think Shebby was spot on with his assessment and would love to hear what his thoughts are on how the team are performing irrespective of being top of the league by one point.I do think things will hot up big style if we start losing and slip down the table a bit because the few fans that attend seem to expect us to stay at the top which I know we wont unless he brings some good defenders in.
9:04am Thu 20 Sep 12
MatthewCA says...
Blackburn match on live SKY today, my team should win with more goals. Best wishes.
9:15am Thu 20 Sep 12
moh says...
9:21am Thu 20 Sep 12
Tatts says...
10:17am Thu 20 Sep 12
forever-a-blue-jean says...
10:26am Thu 20 Sep 12
hawaii 5-0 says...
God, that paddock at the old Victoria Ground was jammed
11:13am Thu 20 Sep 12
lightamatch catcharabbit says...
11:41am Thu 20 Sep 12
ewood1952 says...
11:45am Thu 20 Sep 12
French Rover says...
12:05pm Thu 20 Sep 12
handyamBRFC says...
We BRFC have assembled a good championship side....yes.....!
I think we are okay for the championship and should be going up hopefully.
But I Know we'll need better players for the Premiership NEXT YEAR.
Dunn is finished as a player and Pederson is getting slower by day.
We will need good quality YOUNG players as football is a fast game and no place for pensioners.
Orr is not good enough for Premiership and a replacement needed.
We will need a quality central defender to replace Dann as he is not good enough....!!!!
We need another fast central midfielder alongside Etuhu as Murphy is old and not sure if he can perform at premiership next year.
We will also need another top quality striker alongside Rhodes for next year in premiership.
What do you think...? Do let me know your views..?? Thanks
YES.....We are going up for sure...thanks
12:23pm Thu 20 Sep 12
ewood1952 says...
12:23pm Thu 20 Sep 12
ewood1952 says...
1:15pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Venkytrash says...
1:15pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Venkytrash says...
1:30pm Thu 20 Sep 12
bburnrover says...
1:50pm Thu 20 Sep 12
tootsio11 says...
i dont support kean and never will but i put that aside each game and support the players top of the league another home game tomorrow night with a good chance of victory lets try and be positive i for one will take another 2-1 5-3 lucky victory whatever it may be....the championship is all about momentum and runs if we can keep this going we will have a chance reading some of these posts it would seem alot of fans want us to lose thinking kean will be sacked? not a chance! if it happens think of the unrest it will cause in the team players like gomes rhodes etuhu murphy best etc have all said kean was a massive influence in signing for rovers...my theory is bare it out with him get promoted then he will be fired rovers til i die
2:47pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Nuttall Street says...
ONION BHAJI: yes you opinionated, over bearing, interfering, old bag. It's one of those things you have to learn about football.
MRS DESAI: Do you mean like when I learned that it is not the team with the LEAST points that wins the league?
(telephone rings)
ONION BHAJI: It's Shabby on the phone making his daily call to ask what to do and if he can fire Kean.
MRS DESAI: Certainly not! Mr Kean's a footballing genius. He told me so himself.
2:51pm Thu 20 Sep 12
MxMave says...
5:43pm Thu 20 Sep 12
speedie_rovers_legend says...
7:40pm Thu 20 Sep 12
silverstan says...
7:45pm Thu 20 Sep 12
77'sss says...
When we blew it, after winning the home leg comfortably , but then again
Money was not the be all and end all, as it is now,
The deal that's sky offering now and parachute payments, has ruined the game, it's crazy that you get relegated and you come back up through the final play off at wembley, and it's equivalent cash wise , of finishing in the top seven of the premiership
8:11pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Ewood say that! says...
We have got a decent,and maybe more importantly,large squad.It will come down to how Kean manages them,and maybe there will lie the problem.
We were awful for large parts of the game on Tuesday.Kean's infactuation with Pederson is baffling.He's like one of those American Football special team players who you would only whell on for a corner or free kick.Other than that he's useless.I honestly cannot recall a player passing to the opposition as much as he did on Tuesday night,and I'm including at local league level.And to be fair he did most of last season too.
8:12pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Tatts says...
9:04pm Thu 20 Sep 12
blueblooded says...
9:11pm Thu 20 Sep 12
wampam says...
9:33pm Thu 20 Sep 12
silverstan says...
9:33pm Thu 20 Sep 12
WelshRover1 says...
11:14pm Thu 20 Sep 12
Matt Newcastle says...
Your post is the ridiculous one.
As for not supporting Kean the fact you grace him with your presence means you do.
I hope your pleased with yourself supporting such a despicable regime which has brought such shame on our wonderful club.
12:08am Fri 21 Sep 12
whappen says...
12:12am Fri 21 Sep 12
whappen says...
"Quality is our dignity, service is our lift" - WTF does that mean?
Speak f@cking English man.
12:15am Fri 21 Sep 12
whappen says...
What a bizarre theory.
4:28am Fri 21 Sep 12
azza234 says...
4:32am Fri 21 Sep 12
azza234 says...
8:46am Fri 21 Sep 12
whappen says...
Which league did we win? Which league are we six undefeated in?
10:17am Fri 21 Sep 12
angryandy says...
12:15pm Fri 21 Sep 12
jackflash257 says...
5:27pm Fri 21 Sep 12
srvp28 says...
Oh, the irony! You're right, when one of the big teams win without playing well people say it's a sign of a good team. However, the reason people say this is because those teams have consistently shown how well they can play, hence why they're regarded as a big team. We've played awful in every game and Kean and his coaching staff haven't shown any indication that they've learned a single lesson. We've literally got our strikers to thank for our league position.
I don't agree with those that want the team to lose but I disagree that Kean won't be sacked when we do start losing games. The owners failed to do the right thing in the summer but I'm sure that they're concerned by the number of empty seats at Ewood Park. Unfortunately, for the fans, it would raise too many questions should they sack him while we're still undefeated in the league. I honestly believe that they're waiting for him to slip up a few times before removing him.
As for discontent in the dressing room, poppycock! A lot of players cite the manager as a contributing factor when they join a new club. However, as long as they're playing and/or getting paid they won't lose too much sleep should Kean be sacked. Also, I don't recall Rhodes mentioning Kean having anything to do with his decision to join Rovers.
Finally... "my theory is bare it out with him get promoted then he will be fired."
He will be fired if we get promoted? Do you write all of your own jokes?