Hughes' Rovers Predicament

Blackburn Rovers Manager Mark Hughes is going into the new season with a selection predicament… However, this is a VERY pleasing quandary for him.

Rovers may have lost Francis Jeffers to Sheffield Wednesday (not that he would have featured much anyway) but Hughes is still left with the problem of selecting two from his SIX strong striking options this season, these are of course Matt Derbyshire, Paul Gallacher, Benni McCarthy, Maceo Rigters, Jason Roberts and Roque Santa Cruz.

It will be a long season with extended runs hoped for (if not EXPECTED!!!) in all three of the Cup competitions Rovers are entered into this season, not to mention the Premiership campaign (which promises to be the most enthralling yet!) so Sparky will have to chop and change his players throughout the whole squad in order to keep players fresh, and get through what promises to be a gruelling season.

So the extra competition for places will also spice things up, something that Sparky acknowledges and hopes WILL bring the best out of people. He told (or at least the quotes were printed in) the Lancashire Telegraph:

"It's a difficult problem. Obviously professional footballers want to play week in, week out and that's their aim.

"But I think there's an understanding now that we have got a squad of quality and they may have to bide their time and hope for an opportunity.

"And when they get that opportunity to take it. I think that's a good atmosphere to have and it's important that we have the competition for places that we've been able to build and get to the point where we are now.

"That will help because it's a long season. We played about 60 games last year and if we have a successful season this year again, which we fully expect to, we're going to play a lot of games.

"Last year, because of injuries, we were a little bit thin at times but hopefully this year we won't be."


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