FURIOUS Blackburn boss Graeme Souness last night launched a scathing attack on Mick McCarthy -- accusing the Republic of Ireland chief of favouring the Premiership's big guns.

Souness was incensed when McCarthy played star winger Damien Duff for all but three minutes of the Republic's 'Mickey Mouse' friendly with Denmark on Wednesday.

And he now fears the 23-year-old wide-man will be burnt out going into an Easter programme which could make or break Rovers' season.

"Mick McCarthy really did us a big favour there, didn't he?" blasted Souness.

"What can I say? I was scared to phone up and ask him to play him for only 45 minutes because I thought he'd just see the commonsense.

"But there was no thought for Damien and no thought for Blackburn Rovers.

"Let's not forget Damien has a history of hamstrings and he gets those hamstring problems when he gets tired, just like people like Ryan Giggs do.

"What we are now faced with is two hard games in the space of three days so does that mean we can only play Damien for an hour in each game?

"It's just unfair, especially when it's in a Mickey Mouse friendly like that."

Souness was particularly incensed by the fact that some of Duff's more illustrious international colleagues were taken off far earlier in the game.

"It seems to me that some people can phone up and say 'I've got a strain' or their managers can phone up on their behalf and they get left out.

"But then there are other managers who phone up and say the same thing and they are told 'Oh well he'd better report and we'll let our doctor check him.

"So it would appear with certain national team managers that there's a rule for one club and a rule for the others.

"But I'm not the first to complain about that."

With Rovers desperate for points in their battle to beat the drop, Duff is likely to be a key figure over the next three days.

Tomorrow they take on rock-bottom Leicester at Filbert Street before Southampton then visit Ewood on Monday.

"This weekend won't decide anything but it will go a long way to deciding things," said Souness.

"It's okay people saying we've got a game in hand but you've got to get something from that game in hand.

"We've now got two games in the space of three days and if we can do well in both of those then that would go a long way to easing the pressure."

Leicester -- 13 points adrift of safety at the foot of the Premiership -- would already appear to be resigned to relegation.

But Souness insists the Foxes will not be push-overs despite the perilous nature of their position.

"Leicester are still going to provide us with very stiff opposition," insisted Souness.

"People have got to understand that they are still professional footballers and their manager's a professional so until it's mathematically impossible to stay up they'll still believe they can get out of it.

"You only have to look back in history to see that stranger things have happened in football than Leicester getting out of the situation they currently find themselves in.

"So the only way we can treat is as another extremely hard game."

Souness's one major doubt for tomorrow's game is David Dunn, who has been struggling with a rib injury over the last fortnight.

The 22-year-old midfielder had to pull out of England's Under 21 game with Italy on Tuesday night because of the problem but he did take part in training yesterday for the first time in over a week.

Craig Short returns after a five game ban, though, but Andy Cole is currently in the middle of a three game suspension.

Rovers are expected to choose from: Friedel, Neill, Unsal, Berg, Johansson, Short, Flitcroft, Tugay, Dunn, Duff, Yordi, Jansen, Gillespie, Hignett, Hughes, Taylor, Curtis, Bjornebye, Miller.

Leicester from: Walker, Marshall, Sinclair, Laursen, Ashton, Elliott, Izzet, Oakes, Wright, Savage, Deane, Dickov, Piper, Flowers, Heath.

Rovers' reserve team skipper Darren Dunning yesterday joined Blackpool on a one month loan.