The Jason Whalley column

SINCE the arrival of Mark Hughes as the new manager, we've heard different quotes from within the players' camp.

Phrases such as 'it's a breath of fresh air' and 'we all want to do well for the new manager' have been bandied about and the overall view is of positivity.

Now, I know Sparky has talked of new methods within Ewood, what with ice baths, ProZone and a totally new coaching team, but I'm compelled to ask is he employing a spin doctor too?

Because if the last two performances are the players 'wanting to do well for the new manager' then I must be watching something else.

Even in keeping Chelsea at bay for 30 minutes, Rovers looked more intent in playing out time rather than creating something of their own.

If you go to a place like that and decide to just defend for the duration there's no surer way to ensure that you'll lose a goal at some time. Well Rovers didn't want to stop there, why concede one when you can concede two in a minute instead!

It's no time for optimism now, more a bucket of realism.

I've tried to gain positives in all our games this season but that's now come to an end. Saturday was a watershed, the performance was shambolic, clueless and most worryingly gutless.

I can handle us losing to a better side, but to just give up is totally unacceptable and a massive insult to the hardy souls who made the trip to the Bridge.

I, generally, don't listen to pundit's views but when Alan Hansen gives an opinion I tend to take note and his damning verdict on Rovers display cannot be ignored. 'No idea, no heart and no threat and a team in a desperate struggle' was the top and bottom of it and he's not jumping on the 'hating Blackburn bandwagon', he's saying it as he sees it.

The thing is, there's no point deluding ourselves, he's absolutely spot on. We have a team with seven players over 30 and prop up the division with a goal difference that reads like a winter's day in Siberia.

I'd love to come up with a reason how it will turn around, but for the life of me I can't think of one.

The strikers don't look like scoring, the midfield don't create enough and the defenders give too many chances away with Michael Gray suffering the same 'second season syndrome' as Vratty Gresko before him. As a friend remarked after the game on Saturday 'if Rovers were a Sunday League team, they'd struggle to get someone to run the line for them.'

The only way out of this predicament now is to knuckle down and work hard. Maybe we haven't got the quality of a lot of teams in this league but if the players give their all, any result will be a lot easier for the fans to take.

The saying goes 'it's not the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog'. On Saturday's performance we've got a poodle instead of a pit bull.