BLACKBURN Rovers boss Paul Ince has revealed that defensive coach Nigel Winterburn is hurting just like anybody else over the club’s recent costly mistakes at the back.

Solving his side’s leaky defence has become one of Ince’s leading priorities after shipping 28 goals in the Premier League - the worst record in the division.

Asked if the goals conceded at Pompey had hurt Winterburn, the Blackburn manager said: “Of course it does. Nigel has been here and we are going through the goals.

“You can prepare as much as you want, but once those players go out there - if they make a mistake, you can’t do anything about it as a manager.”

Winterburn joined Ince’s backroom staff during the summer and - due to television commitments - spends two days a week working on Blackburn’s defence at their Brockhall.

“Nigel has always had television commitments and we knew,” said the Rovers boss. “It was the same with Les Ferdinand at Tottenham.

“We knew it was only going to be a couple of days a week.”