CHRIS Samba insists Blackburn Rovers dare not contemplate defeat against Sunderland as he looks to make up for a start to the season that has been ‘full of regret’.

The Rovers skipper pulled no punches in his appraisal of the campaign so far admitting a string of hard-luck stories are not good enough for their Premier League aspirations.

Blackburn Rovers’ start has been far from disastrous as they look to build on last season’s top half of the table finish but, with results not matching their encouraging performances, Samba has called for more of a killer instinct.

Sunderland visit Ewood Park on Monday night level on points with Rovers, who currently sit 13th in the table, three points off fourth and two points away from the drop zone.

Samba said: “I would say our start to the season is below expectations because we are full of regret.

"We are full of regret and that means we have not done the necessary to be where we wanted to be.

“You look at the games like Arsenal, where we dominated and lost, and Birmingham, which should have been an easy three points, Fulham at home that we only drew.

“With a little bit more effort and a little bit more quality we would have a lot more points.

“We just make things a little difficult for ourselves at times and that is regrettable. We have to be smarter, to be a little bit more intelligent at some times of the game.”

Rovers have just one home win to their name in the league this season, an opening day victory against Everton, and Samba is desperate to see a return to last season’s ‘fortress Ewood’ reputation.

Just three home defeats in the Premier League last time round secured their 10th place finish and, following a disappointing defeat at Stoke last time out, Samba is determined to get back on track.

“It seems like a long time since the last time we played at Ewood,” he said. “We are looking forward to it but will need a good performance against Sunderland.

“They had a good result against Manchester United last time out so it will be a tough game and nothing but a win will do.

“Nothing other than a win is good enough. A draw is simply not good enough and a defeat is not even possible. We have to win our games at home.

“We did it last year and we want to make it a fortress again this year.”