GRAEME Souness today slammed suggestions that he is 'anti-Irish' following a scathing attack in an Irish newspaper.

The article in the Evening Herald in Dublin claims Souness wants to weed out Irish stars like Alan Kelly, Jason McAteer (pictured) and Lee Carsley.

But the Ewood chief has poured scorn on those comments and dismissed the whole thing as 'complete nonsense'.

"This has obviously been done by someone who is not very happy at the way they have been treated," said Souness.

"But it's absolute nonsense.

"The whole thing is full of inaccuracies."

In the article, by feature writer Paul Hyland, Souness is criticised for his treatment of Republic internationals like Kelly, Carsley and McAteer.

And it also questions the wisdom of sending Irish Under 21 international Ben Burgess out to Australia for a season on loan. "If you're Irish, get out of Ewood. It's a stark message but one that's unavoidable now that Graeme Souness has settled into the job at Blackburn Rovers," said the piece.

The article also criticised Souness's handling of Irishmen like Ronnie Whelan, Steve Staunton and Ray Houghton during his time as manager of Liverpool.

But the Rovers boss is adamant the allegations have no foundation.

"They were all players who came up to me and asked to leave," said Souness.

"So the whole thing is a complete load of nonsense.

"If anyone knows anything about me then they'll know I'm the last person the finger should be pointed at."

McAteer, Carsley and Kelly may all be on the fringes at the moment.

But McAteer and Kelly were both regulars in the side at the start of the season until a string of poor results resulted in changes.

And, in complete contrast to the claims in the article, Souness has openly stated Irish wing-wizard Damien Duff is one of the key men he wants to build his side around.

As for the decision to send Burgess out on loan, the move makes perfect sense for both Rovers and the player.

With competition for places so fierce at Ewood at present, the 19-year-old striker has the ideal opportunity to get some regular first team experience under his belt at a decent senior level.

And that can only accelerate his development.