BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Steven Reid today insisted every member of Mark Hughes' squad is living in fear of their first team place.

Reid, 25, went into this afternoon's game with Manchester City hoping to keep his spot in the centre of Hughes' midfield.

But, such is the competition for places at Rovers these days, the Republic of Ireland international knows there are no longer any guarantees - even though he felt his performance against Charlton recently was his best yet in a Blackburn shirt.

"I think that was probably my best game for the club and it was also a great all-round team performance," said the former Millwall star, who is locked in a three-way battle with Tugay and Robbie Savage for a central midfield berth.

"I was brought back into the side (against Charlton) and it's now a case of if you don't have a good game then it's highly unlikely you'll be in for the next one.

"So it's important that I continue to play like that week in, week out."

Reid became an integral member of the side during the second half of last season, putting in some stirring performances as Rovers won their battle to beat the drop.

At that point, however, Hughes was tending to go with a five-man midfield and his subsequent switch to a 4-4-2 formation has led to fewer opportunities for Reid, who has had to be content with a place on the bench at times this term.

The Irishman said: "I played a lot in central midfield last season but this season the manager has tended to go with two in there, instead of three, and that makes it harder to get into that central role.

"But I felt I did myself justice the other week and I'll be looking to carry that on today if I'm involved."

In the meantime, Reid has admitted he was green with envy when his Blackburn team-mates Lucas Neill and Brett Emerton helped Australia secure a place at the World Cup finals earlier this week.

Reid had hoped to go to the finals in Germany with the Republic next summer, but those dreams were shattered when the Irish failed to qualify.

He added: "Looking back on the experience of a few years ago (at Japan 2002), it's the pinnacle of your career to play in the World Cup and the Aussie lads are going to be buzzing having got there.

"It's just disappointing that I won't be there with the Republic next summer."

Meanwhile, Rovers are highly unlikely to make any move for Roy Keane following his shock departure from Manchester United yesterday.

Ewood chief Mark Hughes dismissed speculation linking him with the £100,000-a-week midfielder several weeks ago, intimating that his former team-mate will finish his career at Celtic.