PAUL Ince insists he is not feeling under pressure despite watching a Rovers defensive horror-show land them deeper in the relegation mire.
Sean Davis’ 79th minute strike gave Portsmouth a 3-2 win at Fratton Park, as Blackburn fought back from 2-0 down only to gift the hosts all three points and extend their winless streak to nine games.
Sitting second from bottom in the Premier League, Championship football next season is becoming an increasing danger, but Ince has vowed he won’t start feeling sorry for himself.
He said: “I am not feeling pressure. When you have four kids and can’t find a job, that is pressure.
“You have to enjoy being a Premier League manager. We don’t like where we are but there are worse things in life.
“I just feel sorry for the players because they put so much into the game. I never worry about myself, I worry about the players.”
It was like deja-vu for Ince’s side as, dominating the opening exchanges, sloppy defending allowed Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe put Pompey 2-0 withing seven minutes of the restart.
Rovers roared back and levelled through strikes from Matt Derbyshire and a 25-yard rocket from Tugay, but Davis’ late intervention again saw Rovers return home with nothing.
Reports have again surfaced from some quarters suggesting trouble inside Ewood Park this week but Ince insists the whole club are still pulling in the same direction.
Ince said: “I think we deserved the win. They had six shots the whole game and scored three goals. We have come away and scored two goals again and lost. We know where the problem lies.
“The results are going against us. We are playing well but we have to remain positive, we will stick together and see where it takes us. It is never going to be easy.
“There is no question about the spirit. You can speak to the lads, but you saw in the second half to come back there is nothing wrong with the spirit.
“After that, no one can question the spirit of the players and of the team. They are willing to die for each other and get us out of where we are.
“We have a massive game against Liverpool and then five games with teams around us. So let us see where we are then.”
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