OPTIMISM is a funny thing and one all football fans - especially Rovers supporters - have been trying to have recently.

It helps paper over the cracks and gloss over the shocking miss or the defensive howler. It's a defence mechanism and something that is needed to help us look forward.

After the defeat on Wednesday I was 'optimistic'.

Although I haven't bought Souness's 'Lady Luck' stories of late he had a case after this game.

The non-sending off at one end and the real sending off at the other meant we faced a near impossible task and predictably came up short at the end.

At least we made a game of it and the players never let their heads drop.

We saw glimpses of the real Barry Ferguson and the goal he scored was one of the best passing moves you'll see anywhere. He showed authority in possession and got forward to help the attackers when the chance arose.

Real cause for 'optimism' then, and a belief that we were about to turn the corner was held by most Rovers fans. Was it another false dawn or were we getting carried away after what was, in truth, another conclusive home defeat?

We'd have to wait for Super Sunday, although how Sky subscribers could ever begin to think Leicester v Blackburn Rovers would be 'super' I don't know.

Unfortunately, Rovers ability to let you down is second to none. A 2-0 defeat to an extremely ordinary Leicester side is a shocking result.

It's all well and good to talk about our dominance in possession but what's possession without penetration. If all we're doing is playing five-yard passes but not really going forward, the opposition needn't worry. It's too predictable.

As the game wore on it became more obvious we weren't going to score so we needed to try something different. The problem is, there's no 'Plan B'.

Sometimes you need to sacrifice pretty football for pressure football. If that means knocking balls 60 yards and 'turning' the opposition and pressurising them, then so be it.

Why was Ferguson sitting in midfield instead of bombing forward to help the strikers?

It was like he'd been told to stay back to protect the 0-0 scoreline. If there's one thing we know about Rovers , it's that we can't defend so a goal was of paramount importance.

Why does Emerton persist in coming inside rather than giving width?

He's like the proverbial 'one trick pony'... without the trick. I can't believe he was once worth £10million judging by his performances in a Rovers shirt.

The supporters cannot be kidded forever. They see what's happening on the pitch and are rightly worried by it. The 'hard luck' stories and 'poor refereeing decisions' are wearing thin. A look at the table makes the Everton game a must win as far as I'm concerned. Nothing less will do.

Apparently the manager has 'never felt so low'.

All he needs to do is look in the eyes of the supporters at the next game to realise he's not alone. The thing is, those in the crowd can do nothing about it, he can and he surely must.