BRIAN Kidd is quite happy to act as 'minder' to his players - deflecting any criticism of them on to his own shoulders to help build up their confidence.

The Blackburn Rovers boss invited anyone unhappy with the rebuilding job he has undertaken at Ewood to have a go at him rather than the players.

And striker Ashley Ward revealed that the squad were fully aware and appreciative of the way in which their manager was prepared to bear the brunt of the recent barrage of criticism.

Kidd said: "I have told the players I am happy with them, I have confidence in them and I am positive about what the future holds.

"They are in a lovely position because I will take the hammer. I can do that it's part of my character.

"Not every person is like that but, when I was a player and the manager gave me a rollicking, I would respond to that.

"I've told them, leave me to handle it (any flak).

"I have been in the game for a long time. It's better than working for a living yet everybody talks about pressure.

"But for me there's no pressure in football.

"Pressure is what the working man has, trying to save a few coppers to go on holiday next year."

The great expectations that faced Rovers at the start of the season made the disappointment of their opening three results even more pointed. Saturday's win at Carrow Road lifted some of the gloom among the supporters and Ward revealed how Kidd had protected the players.

He also underlined how everyone at Ewood was hoping the victory over Norwich would give them the impetus to start climbing the table.

"The manager's been brilliant at shielding us from all the pressure," said Ward.

"He's willing to take it all on himself which is fantastic for the players. He's a players' manager.

"We haven't had the start we wanted. We lost two on the bounce and we are expected to do big things in this league.

"A lot of people have said that confidence plays a big part.

"It's no secret that expectations weigh heavily on people, especially when you get off to a bad start.

"Hopefully the win over Norwich will give us a little bit of a lift and spark something off."

One of the pressures Rovers have to handle is that they are still being looked upon by many of their opponents as a Premiership team and a big scalp to be claimed.

Egil Ostenstad, whose first goals for the club clinched Saturday's win at Norwich, said: "Expectations are very high and everybody expects us to win four or five nil every game because of the squad we have got. "Blackburn is a big club and should not really be in the First Division so there is pressure on us to get back up again.

"But we know it will be tough and you need time to get used to the First Division as well.

"Now we have got our first three points it's a good base for the future."

Meanwhile Rovers midfielder Lee Carsley could have a crucial role to play in helping the Republic of Ireland claim their place in the finals of Euro 2000.

Carsley came on to replaced the injured Roy Keane as Ireland clinched a superb 2-1 win over Yugoslavia in Dublin last night to go to the top of qualifying Group Eight.

And with Keane now likely to miss Saturday night's clash in Croatia with a hamstring injury, Carsley would seem to be an obvious replacement for game that would virtually guarantee Ireland's place in the finals if they could win.

However, manager Mick McCarthy isn't getting carried away after stunning goals from Robbie Keane and Mark Kennedy, coupled to some excellent early saves from Blackburn keeper Alan Kelly, accounted for the Yugoslavs.

"It makes me proud to be an Irishman but you've got to remember that I'm a dour Yorkshireman as well. So my feet are still planted firmly on the ground," said McCarthy, whose side also faces Malta next Wednesday night. "Six more points now and I would think we've done it. People might say we could be in the finals by next Wednesday. But what international manager in Europe would fancy going to Croatia and turning them over?

"And it looks like we've got to do try to do it with a few injured players missing. The fact is there are still two very hard games to go next week and then another one in October in Macedonia. Nothing is settled yet - far from it."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.