BLACKBURN defender Craig Short today admitted Graeme Souness had every right to criticise the players after Rovers slumped to a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa.

Souness described Saturday's woeful performance as 'unacceptable' and accused his faltering stars of lacking both passion and aggression following his side's fifth home defeat of the season in the Premiership.

That result dragged Rovers right back into trouble near the foot of the Premiership going into the Christmas period, and Short conceded that he and his team-mates had let the manager down.

"The manager hates losing and he's got a right to have a go at us," said Short.

"I fully agree with exactly what he said after the game and I think all the players do.

"You know yourself when it's poor and you know yourself when you are not doing well, but you've just got to try and keep going in that situation.

"I think the manager felt one or two of the lads gave in and we all looked shattered to be honest.

"They looked fresher than us and that shouldn't have been the case because they'd had a game in midweek.

"But we can't dwell on it. As players, what can you say? We've just got to make sure we get it right and be ready for the next game.

"We've been in this position before. Let's just scrap it out and hopefully we can improve over the next few games.

"There's still half a season to go. It could be a fight right to the end and we've got to be prepared to fight right to the end."