THE Pompey chimes sounded something of a disappointing note among the Blackburn Rovers players and fans when the Worthington Cup draw was made on the afternoon of the win at Norwich.

A long midweek trek to the South coast, awkward opposition, who are unbeaten in four home League games so far this season, and certainly no prospect of an easy ride into the next round add up to a testing two-legged contest with Portsmouth.

With manager Brian Kidd set to ring the changes, including a new strike partner for Ashley Ward in Nathan Blake, Rovers themselves could be an unknown quantity at Fratton Park tonight.

But Ward summed up the mood in the camp, where there is obviously a belief that a cup run could complement a climb up the First Division table.

"It's not the ideal draw and there's a lot of travelling involved," said Ward.

"It would have been nice to have a refreshing change and show that we can play against Premiership opposition.

"But the main thing is that we have to be professional enough to try to get through to the next round.

"As far as I am concerned you want to win every game you play in.

"And I think it's a chance of having a good cup run.

"The final is at Wembley and that's a big carrot for any club.

"It's not beyond any team (to get there).

"We have seen First Division, or the old Second Division, sides get there and some of them would not be as highly rated as we are in this division. "So there's no reason why we can't do well in the competition."

Tonight's first leg will, to a degree, take some of the pressure off Rovers who have been struggling to find their rhythm at Ewood.

And Portsmouth's eagerness to establish an advantage might leave space to exploit.

The fans have been far from satisfied with what they have seen from the side at home but Ward understands their anxiety and also explains how the frustration quickly spreads.

He said: "The players think the fans have been great to us. We are their team and it's only natural that they want us to do well.

"Lesser-rated teams are coming to Ewood and frustrating us and, obviously, that makes the fans - as well as us - disappointed.

"The people watching are frustrated as we are by teams come here to defend.

"And the more the nervousness transpires from the stands onto the pitch the more you end up as a nervous team, which I thought we were in the first half against Tranmere."

There should not be any need for nerves tonight, though it will be interesting to see what shape of team Brian Kidd fields.

"We are lucky to have a big squad with a lot of good players and the gaffer might change it round to try others," added Ward.

"But I certainly wouldn't say it's not a priority because whoever is in the side we have a strong pool of players."

That strength in depth will be tested tonight.

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