Kidd slams Ewood flops

In a shock, plain-speaking outburst, Kidd admitted there was something "fundamentally wrong" with his team and accepted his share of the responsibility.

The Blackburn Rovers boss, saying he felt he had to be honest, spoke his mind without any prompting.

While he rightly felt Rovers had dominated the game in the first half, he pinpointed the reason for their downfall.

"I didn't think we were determined enough and that was the biggest difference between the teams - the determination and the application," he said.

"For me, that's why City got the result.

"In the first half there was only one team in it in my opinion. We just needed a wee bit of discipline on the goal with the kid Kennedy, which we had spoken about.

"But, no matter which way you wrap it up, they were far more determined and their attitude was far better than ours. I pick the team, I send them out and that's my responsibility.

"Second balls, the little bits that make a game up, you name it - they wanted to win it more than us.

"It typifies the difference when young Jeff Whitley goes in determined to get in on a cross (to score) and, at the other end, young Richard Edghill comes through players and gets his head on it (to clear).

"That's the difference and that typified the game for me. I think that rounded it off. Somebody was determined to get his head on it at one end and then at the other.

"It's wearing thin for me when you say we could have had something out of the game. We could have said that every game this season. "There are no excuses in my book.

"All I am doing is being honest. I am just saying as I have seen it.

"We go in at half time and you are saying, how are we 1-0 down?

"There's nothing wrong with our football. You talk about shape, systems, pattern of play but they haven't played through us. From going in 1-0 down, there was no reason to think after the first half that we couldn't get something out of the game.

"Forget the score. At half time you would have thought there was only one team winning the game.

"I thought we had a decent shape.

"But it comes from within, it's fire in your belly. Motivation in life is not how much money you have got. You must have a goal and a challenge, otherwise you are just going to stagnate."

Kidd also dismissed suggestions that his team were having problems adapting to life in the First Division, describing such an attitude as a "cop-out".

He clearly fears his squad are mentally too weak to handle what is being thrown at them.

"Mental toughness is far more important than physical toughness," he added. "Some of your great players couldn't tackle a tripe supper but they wanted the ball all the time, win, lose or draw.

"You are looking at mental toughness which I think is harder to have than physical toughness.

"Fundamentally there is obviously something wrong.

"It's not that I am saying I have done all I can, because I haven't. You must always be striving to improve things, even if you are top of the league."

The one positive note for Kidd was that he got Jason McAteer back in action.

"Jason has been out for six months and I was hoping to get him a game in different circumstances," he said.

Reports linking Arsenal with Matt Jansen and Jason Wilcox with a couple of un-named Premiership clubs were dismissed by Ewood chief executive John Williams.

He said: "Our guest box is regularly filled with scouts but the fact is that we haven't had bids for any of our players."

Arsenal are believed to be long-term admirers of Jansen.

Meanwhile Rovers simply refused to comment on a story linking ex-Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear with Ewood as a possible replacement for Kidd.

Rovers have been linked with Bolton's Andy Todd but it is unlikely there will be any signings in the near future.

Rovers under-17s beat Crewe 1-0 at home thanks to a Neil Danns goal. The under-19s maintained their unbeaten run with a 0-0 home draw against Crewe.

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