Blackburn Rovers captain Chris Samba insists money would not guarantee success – claiming the current ‘unity’ at Ewood Park should never be underestimated.

The club have been surrounded by a media frenzy over the last seven days with Indian Tycoon Ahsan Ali Syed promising £300m worth of investment should his takeover bid succeed. Rovers’ squad though are determined not to get carried away.

Sam Allardyce’s men travel to Birmingham City tomorrow on the back of a fine Premier League opening day win at home to Everton, and Samba has urged everyone to focus on the present.

The giant centre back admits the prospect of a cash injection is exciting for everyone involved but warns money can never be a substitute for heart and togetherness.

He said: “Last year we saw at Manchester City how difficult it is. Just because they spent so much money it doesn’t mean you will necessarily improve.

“It is a much more difficult job than that. You have to find harmony between the players, the right mentality in the team. It is a good thing if there are better prospects for the club though, that is good for everybody.

“I think there is a very good spirit here. We know what we need to do to be successful and that will continue whether or not we have money.”

While Rovers boss Allardyce spoke with a cautious excitement about Mr Ali Syed’s potential involvement, Samba insists none of the players have even mentioned the takeover subject.

He believes everyone’s focus is on their immediate priority of putting right last’s season’s miserable away record and he is determined to leave the off-field matters to the club’s board.

“We don’t speak about it,” said Samba. “We don’t have the experience of a takeover in the club, we don’t know what it is. Maybe it would be an opportunity to bring in some more quality players to the club but these things we don’t know.

“We don’t speak about it all. Nothing has changed at all for us. We go on training hard, looking to win games, starting with Birmingham, and continuing as we are.

“We know what we have built here from last season. We are incredibly strong at home and we have to try and start moving towards a couple of results away. It is about improving all the time.”

Samba is the newly-appointed team skipper this season, with Ryan Nelsen club captain, and the African defender has described being given the armband as an ‘honour’.

He said: “It is good having the armband. It is good responsibility being the leader but we have a lot of leaders in the team. It is nice of the gaffer to have given me the armband but it is not the most important thing.

“We have a lot of leaders in the team and are all helping each other.”

Meanwhile Bulgarian striker Ivelin Popov is understood to have returned to parent club Litex Lovechs having undergone a series of medical tests at Blackburn Rovers.

The 22-year-old’s future was thrown into confusion after his own club’s website stated a £1.5m move to Ewood Park had been agreed subject to obtaining a work permit, but chairman John Williams moved quickly to deny the reports.

Williams said: “He is one of a number of strikers under consideration. We have made no offer to his club.”

Championship outfit Queens Park Rovers are believed to be interested in signing striker Jason Roberts on a season-long loan deal, although Rovers would be unlikely to agree to any deal that would see them subsidise his wages.

Roberts himself would prefer to tie up a permanent deal before the end of the transfer window with his Rovers contract due to expire this summer.