BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness has told his players they must win the battle before they can win the war as Rovers prepare for tomorrow's 'massive' six-pointer against Leicester City.
Both sides are desperate for a win in the scramble to avoid relegation from the Premiership.
And Souness has warned his team that they'll have to dig in and fight if they are to overcome a physical Leicester side who beat them 2-0 in the corresponding fixture at the Walkers Stadium earlier in the season.
On that day, Rovers had dominated possession but they were undone by two set-pieces as Leicester scrapped their way to a vital victory.
That result plunged Rovers into the bottom three but Souness is determined history won't repeat itself tomorrow as he seeks a first home win in almost five months.
"Leicester are a team of battlers and we'll have to match them in that department if we want to get something out of the game," said Souness.
"We did that against Fulham on Monday night and that's what we'll need again tomorrow to get us through.
"Set-pieces could play a big part in the game. They will have seen us concede two goals from set-pieces on Monday night and they'll be looking to exploit that again tomorrow.
"They'll see that as a way of getting at us so we've got to be better in that department and that's what we've been working on in training all week.
"If we defend properly then we have a chance. Craig Short and Lorenzo Amoruso should both be fit to play and they are the type of people you need in this situation because they're prepared to stand up and be counted."
Both sides go into the game eager to end a wretched sequence of results.
Rovers last celebrated a victory on home soil when Tottenham were defeated 1-0 on November 29 last year.
Since then, Rovers have lost six and drawn three at Ewood, which is the main reason why they are still sweating on their Premier League status with five games remaining.
Leicester, meanwhile, are in the middle of an even more depressing slump.
Micky Adams' side have won just one game -- home and away -- in the Premiership since November 29, a sequence spanning 19 matches.
On top of that, the club were also plunged into crisis when three of their players, including former Rovers star Keith Gillespie, spent a week in a Spanish jail last month following a mid-season trip to La Manga.
Since that scandal hit the papers, the Foxes have taken just five points out of a possible 18, a haul which leaves their own survival hopes hanging by a thread.
Adams believes his side still need 10 points from their remaining five games so a defeat tomorrow would all but spell the end for the Foxes.
"We need a win, I won't deny that, for our own well being and I think 10 points is going to be enough which means three wins and a draw so if we only draw tomorrow it won't be the end of the world," said Adams.
"If we lose we would have to win the last four.
"Both teams will be fully aware of the importance of the game tomorrow and I think it will be the side that wants it the most that will come out with something."
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