The Glenn Keeley column

IF I could give one piece of advice to the Rovers players going into the Liverpool game, it would be this - don't go anywhere near a league table.

Confidence is rock bottom, and being in a similar state in the Premiership does absolutely nothing to change that.

But if there is a good thing to come out of being in that position, it's that they can perhaps be a little bit laissez faire about Saturday.

True, the fixture list hasn't been kind to Rovers so far. But all Premiership games are big games. Liverpool are next up - so what? Just go out there and get them.

That kind of gung-ho attitude is seriously lacking at the moment, but it's one that might just get them out of the sticky stuff.

For me, there were no surprises at Chelsea last weekend, not least because the referee's rule book is such that the game is geared to scoring goals at that level.

It's difficult for defenders because they're not really allowed to challenge easily, but when they're aren't many natural goalscorers in the side, the onus is on the people at the back to defend well.

Losing players like Andy Cole hasn't made life easy because when him and Jonathan Stead were on form, there was a goal in each game from either one of them.

It was a similar story when Damien Duff and David Dunn were in the side.

If you defended well, you knew sooner or later that either Stead or Cole would pop the ball in the back of the net.

If you went a goal down, they could get you an equaliser.

Now if Rovers go a goal down or are up against it, you look around and there aren't people there who you feel can have a similar impact.

Stead is still capable of producing the goods, but he's got a crisis of confidence. Youri Djorkaeff has got it, but we need more.

In the mean time, we do need to be well organised at the back and they must not lose their self belief.

Besides, no-one wants to be bottom of the league, but fate conspires against you at this end of the table, and if it's going to happen, it's better to get it over and done with before Christmas and not after.

It's still only in October so there's plenty of time to push on.

I'm not one of these who subscribes to the belief that a squad can be too good to go down. You only have to be a little bit below your best for that to happen.

The reverse of that is, is it good enough to stay in Premiership? The Rovers squad is, but the players need to pull out all the stops.

Tunnel trouble

THE truth about what exactly happened in the Old Trafford tunnel after Sunday's firecracker between Manchester United and Arsenal has yet to come out. Perhaps it never will.

But one thing is for certain, tunnel scuffles have always been part of the game - and probably always will.

We had some great fun when I was a player.

Unfortunately now, quite often there are cameras down there so you get your dirty linen washed in public.

But it's a wonderful part of football, and long may it continue.

Football has lost two greats

FOOTBALL has lost two true greats in recent weeks.

The news of former Tottenham Hotspur manager Bill Nicholson's death at the weekend comes on the back of the sad loss of Brian Clough.

You couldn't meet two more different characters, but both were equally stunning with what they achieved at their clubs.

Cloughie could teach a psychologist with a Masters degree a thing or two, especially when it came to getting the absolute peak out of players.

Nicholson, who my younger brother Andrew played under at Spurs, was a gentleman. If he simply said to you 'well done' you knew you'd played absolutely world class football.

Clough and Nicholson were two of the most revered and respected managers I've ever known.

Although Mark Hughes has come to Rovers at a difficult time, hopefully he can shape himself in that kind of mould.