DOWN-to-earth Ewood skipper Lee Carsley has added a note of caution to the celebrations which saw him complete his first senior game for two and a half months.

For the midfielder is fully aware after his return to action in the dismal draw with Portsmouth that Blackburn Rovers still have major problems to sort out if they are to be a force in the future.

A return to the below-par performances which have cost them a promotion chance was a blow to everyone.

But Carsley has been encouraged by the manner in which Graeme Souness has made his presence felt -- and was particularly pleased to benefit personally from the new boss's man-management skills.

"It was just nice for me to be back in the side on Saturday," said Carsley, who also had 45 minutes for the reserves last night and looked much closer to his peak.

"But it (our performance) just goes to show that we still have a problem which hasn't gone away yet.

"And we have to do something about it." One aspect of his return that did lift the midfielder's spirits was being handed the captain's armband again.

"That was a definitely a big boost for me," he said. "The manager spoke to me and said I would be captain and it was a good feeling that he sees me as being fit to lead the team."

Souness himself stressed that the decision to revert to Carsley as captain was not a reflection in any shape or form on the way Garry Flitcroft had handled the duties during his team-mate's absence.

It was Carsley's first appearance since Souness took control, and the manager explained: "I spoke to Tony Parkes about the situation as that's the first time Lee has played for me. He was captain before so we decided to run with what had happened before I came.

"That's all there is to it, it's certainly no criticism of Garry Flitcroft."

Carsley remains Rovers' top scorer -- Saturday's superbly-struck penalty making him the first to reach double figures for the season.

Last night, he was replaced at half time by Billy McKinlay who is trying to step up his efforts to get fit after 12 months on the sidelines.

McKinlay has had a combination of problems after going down initially with a groin injury. But he looked in good shape last night and will be hoping to progress.