STEPHEN Warnock insists Rovers’ Premier League struggles are not down to a lack of fight – admitting a desire to succeed even spills over into training ground bust-ups.

The Rovers defender has revealed internal fighting is the norm at Ewood Park as they look to end an eight-match winless sequence at Portsmouth tomorrow, but insists a lack of passion would be the real concern.

Just days after Arsenal’s William Gallas ripped the team spirit apart at the Emirates Stadium by publicly slamming his team-mates, Warnock admits internal disputes are expected in the game.

He emphasises the importance of keeping all arguments in-house though, insisting a repeat of Gallas’s exploits could jeopardise any team’s Premier League fortunes.

He said: “It’s fair enough pointing fingers at people but you can look at Martin Olsson at the weekend. He had a tough time against arguably one of the great wingers in the league but you can blame the strikers who haven’t put things away as well.

“Benni missed a great chance to get us back in the game but do you point the finger at Benni and turn round and say that?

“It’s collective and it’s a team thing. The moment you do start pointing fingers and blaming people is when the team will start to fall apart. It’s important that the lads stick together.

“From what I’ve heard, Martin was very upset but the lads rallied around him. He’s been trying to get himself back together this week and the lads have put an arm round him and supported him.”

While Warnock insists ‘collective responsibility’ is needed to lift Rovers out of the Premier League relegation zone, he admits a bit of ‘rough and tumble’ on the training ground is natural.

He said: “I don’t think it would be a training ground if there weren’t bust-ups. That’s football. I’ve been at a few clubs now where I’ve had bust-ups with people myself. It’s part and parcel and showing people that you care.

“If you don’t care you don’t have arguments. You just let it blow over. You’ve got to have arguments to set things right and get things out in the open and that’s how you put things right, make things better and make the team stronger.

“You could probably watch training today and I’m sure you’d see a few arguments on the training pitch. That’s part and parcel of it.

“They get forgotten about straight away. Everyone is eating together in the canteen after training and getting our drinks in to recover, the lads are talking about it and saying ‘it wasn’t anything to do with that, I was just saying it because of this, or it was the heat of the moment, things like that. That’s just part and parcel of it and you get on with it.”

While the majority of internal fights never get noticed, there have been several occasions over the years where training ground arguments have become high-profile.

Warnock insists though they will always occur in football, even when you are at the other end of the table.

“It probably happens more when you are doing well because you want the best out of every player,” he said.

“I am sure if I’m playing left-back or centre midfield the person alongside me, if it’s Ryan Nelsen or Tugay, is going to be screaming at me to do things better purely because he knows that I can do better and he wants the best out of me. It’s pride more than anything.

“It’s constructive criticism, that’s the way you’ve got to look at it and the team do it because they care. We had it last year when the other manager was here. We had a good run of form and people were still arguing then because they expect better out of people. It’s high standards that we set for each other.

“It won’t stop because there are too many strong players within the squad. You’ve got international players like Andre Ooijer, Ryan Nelsen, Tugay, Roque. These are players who have played at the top level for many years and they are not going to just sit back and accept what’s happening.

“They will dig their heels in and fight for it.”

Warnock is expected to return at left back for tomorrow’s Premier League trip to Fratton Park, in place of the suspended Martin Olsson, as Rovers look to respond to a torrid run of results.

He remains confident the tide will turn at Ewood though, claiming performances have warranted more reward in recent weeks.

He said: “The mood is fine. The lads feel it’s not unfair but that we have been putting on good performances and we should be higher in the league. It’s a stage of the season where we can put it right.”