BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness has urged his team to keep believing they will survive in the Premiership.

Rovers' hopes of staying up took a hammer blow yesterday when they were battered into submission at Anfield and suffered their heaviest league defeat of the season.

And following the 4-0 thrashing, Rovers now lie one point above Portsmouth, who have a game in hand, and three ahead of Leicester City, who have a chance to draw level on points with Blackburn tonight at Leeds United.

"No-one in our camp has ever said we are too good to go down," said Souness. "But we have to believe that we are good enough to stay up. We don't believe there are three teams worse than us, but we have to believe we are staying up.

"Long before today we all understood how dangerous a position we find ourselves in. So we have to believe in our own players and players have to believe in their own ability. It's stand up and be counted time."

Souness conceded that his players are suffering a crisis of confidence as they try to lift themselves away from the bottom three.

He said: "Last year we had a very good season so I know how big a part confidence plays in a player's performance and we are obviously lacking that at the moment.

"After today, that's not going to help. But we've got to show that we are men and have to bounce back from that. That's what forms your character."

Craig Short limped off at half-time with a damaged calf yesterday but Steven Reid made a successful return to first team action as a substitute, completing a full second half.

Meanwhile, Dwight Yorke believes he can still make on an impact in Blackburn's fight for survival.

The striker has fallen out of favour since the emergence of Paul Gallagher and Jonathan Stead and was also at the centre of a training ground bust-up with Souness three weeks ago.

But Yorke, who was an unused substitute at Liverpool yesterday, said: "Things have not gone as well as I'd have liked.

"I certainly believe I can do a job in the Premiership for a few years yet and I just want to help the club to stay up."