I HOPE I am wrong, but I suspect Brian Kidd and Blackburn Rovers will regret the decision to let Tim Sherwood go to Spurs.

With Billy McKinlay and Garry Flitcroft out for the remainder of the season, Rovers' midfield is lightweight and inadequate.

With McKinlay's and Flitcroft's incapacity already a fact, the Sherwood decision is all the more baffling.

The same stance that has been taken with Tim Flowers should have applied to Sherwood.

If he was an unsettling influence, as Roy Hodgson implied, then it is strange that Sherwood should have spent seven previous trouble-free seasons at Ewood.

Now he is no longer there, all of a sudden, Rovers look extremely vulnerable.

The next couple of away games could decide their fate.

I was quietly confident of survival until the Sheffield Wednesday drubbing and the wholly inadequate display against Newcastle.

Let's all hope Brian Kidd can hold his nerve and select teams to win games, not merely contain opponents and that Rovers will retain Premiership status.

One tabloid daily recently labelled Rovers as "a rich man's folly," implying that the Premiership was only for the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. For pity's sake, Rovers, don't prove them right!

C WHITESIDE, Biggar Village, Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness.

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