BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today called on his troops to show the necessary fighting spirit to dig the club out of relegation trouble as Rovers prepare to face Fulham tomorrow.

After nine defeats in their last 11 Premiership outings, Rovers are currently entrenched in a dog-fight as they travel to Craven Cottage.

But Souness believes his players have the necessary stomach to turn things around as they hover perilously above the dreaded dropzone.

"We've got a squad of players here who, when their backs have been up against the wall in the past, they've come up with the performances and that's what we need off them right now," said Souness.

"I'm deeply disappointed with how things are going at the moment because, if anyone has seen us play regularly this season, then we should have more points on the board.

"But we can't blame refereeing decisions and we can't blame bad luck so it's down to us as a group to improve things and get ourselves to a position in the league where we feel we should be.

"As I've said before, if you end up getting relegated that's because you've been one of the two or three worst teams in your league.

"And if you win the championship, it's because you're the very best.

"So it's not something that happens due to bad luck because over 38 games that luck evens itself out.

"That's what I've always believed and, if we end up going down, it won't be through bad luck, it will be because we weren't good enough.

"We can talk about all our passing and the fact we've created chances and scored goals but, ultimately, we've not got enough points on the board for the football we've played.

"So there must be something wrong in our game somewhere and that's what we have got to address."

Souness has described Rovers' recent run of results as 'the worst of his career' but he knows his team have a job on their hands to end that sequence at Craven Cottage.

"I had a season at Southampton where we spent most of the year floating above the relegation zone but this is as miserable a run as I've ever experienced," said Souness.

"Our run in the cups has perhaps camouflaged that a bit in the past couple of months but it's something which must be put right quickly.

"It's going to be a hard game tomorrow, I'm under no illusions about that. We know Fulham are a good team because they beat us twice last year and we'll have our hands full going there.

"But we've had a really week's training this week and our lads have a real grit and determination about them.

"So we could easily go there and get a result if we put our minds to it."

Garry Flitcroft misses tomorrow's game through suspension as he starts a three-game ban.

But David Dunn is fit to return after a calf injury and Henning Berg and Craig Short are in line for recalls.

Rovers are expected to choose from: Friedel, Curtis, Bjornebye, Short, Berg, Tugay, Dunn, Gillespie, Duff, Cole, Jansen, Neill, Mahon, Hignett, Hughes, Johansson, Taylor, Kelly.

Meanwhile, Fulham midfielder Sean Davis is fit again after suffering a broken nose and should be in Jean Tigana's squad for tomorrow's clash at Craven Cottage.

But Lee Clark faces another fortnight on the sidelines with the Achilles problem that has sidelined him since Boxing Day - and Luis Boa Morte could miss out again with his ankle problem.

Tigana must also decide whether to reinstate regular left-back Rufus Brevett in place of Jon Harley, who impressed in last Saturday's scoreless draw with Aston Villa in the absence of the suspended first-choice defender.

Team (from): Van der Sar, Brevett, Finnan, Melville, Goma, Collins, Legwinski, Knight, Malbranque, Taylor, Marlet, Saha, Hayles, Boa Morte, Davis, Harley.