Chris Sutton hit back at critics after being at the centre of a controversial incident in stoppage time as Rovers earned a dramatic draw at Arsenal, on this day in 1997.

The £5 million striker was given 100 per cent backing from his Ewood team-mates who publicly declared their support for him after Sutton came in for criticism from the Gunners players.

He chased Nigel Winterburn after Rovers had thrown the ball to Arsenal, following an injury to one of their players, and won the corner from which Garry Flitcroft scored.

But Sutton shrugged off the abuse and criticism he had to take from the Arsenal players, the crowd and other quarters such as BBC's Match of the Day.

"I am not saying I was right to do it, but anyone who calls me a cheat or a bad sport should also look at the diving around the box or going over the top," Sutton said.

"And what about time-wasting? Winterburn went towards the corner flag and was stood there trying to waste time.

"It's a fine line when you talk about sportsmanship.

 

 

"I thought it was fair game to go for that ball. I felt they were wasting time and had been doing so for a while. But that doesn't get noticed

"He could have knocked it down the line or even back to the keeper, but he went to the corner.

"Although I am not saying it was right, I am certainly not apologising for it. If they had defended the corner properly, Garry Flitcroft might not have scored.

"But because he produced a great finish, everyone talks about it. All I was trying to do was my best for Blackburn Rovers to get a result. "People can say what they like about me.

"But we are in a dogfight, battling to stay in the Premiership.

"Some might say it wasn't in the spirit of the game but there were a lot of things on Saturday which weren't in the spirit and we didn't have a lot of them going for us."

And his team-mates backed him, with Colin Hendry stating: "We are behind Chris on this and that goes for us all.

"In the circumstances of the game we have no qualms about anything he did. Any one of us might have done the same thing."

Meanwhile, Tony Parkes said the door wasn’t closed on Graeme Le Saux despite not making the substitutes bench for the draw at Arsenal, one of the sides linked with a move for the defender.

Le Saux, along with team-mate Tim Flowers had been named in the England squad, with Parkes revealing the left back would return for the game with Sheffield Wednesday.

"He was left out because he hasn't been playing well, it's as simple as that," said Parkes.

"I would treat any player the same way as I have treated Graeme.

"He was very disappointed to be left out but I wouldn't have expected any other reaction from him. Hopefully, when he is picked again he will be a better Graeme Le Saux than he has been in the last few weeks. Obviously being out of our side isn't going to do his England chances any good.

"But I have had a chat with him about it. The only thing we want at the moment is everyone fully committed to keeping Blackburn Rovers in the Premiership. That applies to everyone at the club not just Graeme Le Saux."