RAY Harford gave his team what he felt was a necessary kick up the backside, rather than a pat on the back, after Blackburn Rovers claimed a place in the third round of the Coca-Cola Cup by beating Second Division leaders Brentford last night.

It was Rovers' first home victory in a troubled start to the season but the manager felt they had let the fans down by their approach to the second half.

And he made it crystal clear that he would not accept anything less than their best.

"It was like scoring an early goal," he said.

"When you go into the lead, you can get complacent. And there was some sloppy play in the second half that was down to complacency.

"We started sharply, got into some great positions in the first half and should have been three or four up.

"But it was like waiting for a train. You miss one but you know another is going to come along in a minute.

"There were a few complacent people out there.

"I don't think the crowd deserved that and Brentford didn't deserve that lack of respect.

"Our goalkeeper had more work to do than their keeper in the second half and it's not as if we are winning out of sight every other week. "I can only put it down to complacency and it's annoying."

The result, however, should give Rovers confidence for Saturday's trip to Coventry, though they will have to show a sharper edge to their game against Premiership opposition.

Will they be ready to do that?

"I certainly hope so," added the manager, distinctly unhappy with certain aspects of his team's performance last night.

There were a couple of major plus points, with Jason Wilcox coming through his first 90 minutes with the senior team.

And Harford also took the opportunity to blood Gary Croft, who was grateful for the opportunity to make his bow for the first team, following his move from Grimsby last March.

The manager made a change at the back to accommodate Croft, leaving out Chris Coleman.

He paired Henning Berg with Colin Hendry and admitted that he had considered giving Ian Pearce a first start after a 10-month absence. But Pearce picked up a thigh strain in training.

The defender said he hoped it would only take a couple of days to heal.

Sky Sports One will broadcast the Coca-Cola Cup third round draw tonight at 10pm.

Rovers Reserves visit Leeds tonight. They will field a strong side with Graeme Le Saux having his second full game. The squad is: Given, Gill, Le Saux, McKinlay, Marker, Broomes, Ripley, Holmes, Beattie, Fenton, Gudmundsson, Morgan, Whealing, Coughlan.

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