FRUSTRATED Blackburn boss Graeme Souness has poured scorn on suggestions that his struggling Rovers are 'too good to go down.'
When Rovers last got relegated from the Premiership in 1999 it came as a major shock to the football world.
Many pundits believed the former Premier League champions had too many good players to finish in the bottom three.
But a disastrous run under Brian Kidd saw the club slide down the table, culminating in relegation to the Nationwide League in the final week of the season.
And Souness is determined his players won't fall into a similar trap as they prepare for the first of two massive fixtures against Wolves at Molineux tonight before Bolton then visit Ewood on Saturday.
"I'm not interested in what has happened before. I've heard all the stories, I've seen them and witnessed them, where people are supposedly too good to go down," said Souness.
"At the end of the season, if you win the league, it's because you've been the best team.
"And if you end up in the bottom three, it's because you've been one of the worst three and you get what you deserve.
"Everyone suffers injuries, everyone suffers suspensions, and it's the ones who feel sorry for themselves who are the ones that find themselves in trouble.
"And that's what we must not do. We must not feel sorry for ourselves because that's a recipe for disaster.
"Some characters are stronger than others among the group of players I've got and I'd like to believe that the stronger ones will carry the lesser ones through.
"This is a time for the proper men and the proper characters to really stand up and be counted."
Rovers enter the second half of the season still sweating on their Premiership status following a string of indifferent results and performances.
Just three points currently separate them from the bottom three, and if Wolves were to win at Molineux tonight then the battle for survival would become even more intense.
However, it's also worth pointing out that Rovers are only six points worse off than they were at the same stage last season when they went on to finish in sixth position.
History is unlikely to repeat itself this time but Souness would happily settle for mid-table security come the end of the season given the way things have panned out so far.
Two good results over the next four days would help to ease anxiety in the Rovers' camp.
Wolves were nonchalantly brushed aside on the opening day of the season as Rovers roared to a Brett Emerton inspired 5-1 victory at Ewood.
Dave Jones's side then picked up just one point from their next five games, prompting many bookies to close the book on their prospects of beating the drop.
But Wanderers have gradually improved since then and they haven't lost a game at Molineux in any competition since September 20.
In the meantime, Rovers' star has waned since that opening day salvo.
"We have a very difficult game at Wolves," said the Rovers boss.
"They are fighting for their lives as we are and our next game after that is Bolton so we've got two very important games coming up."
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