Thrashing by Arsenal saved Rovers' season, says Pedersen
The last time Blackburn Rovers took on Arsenal it turned out to be such a chastening experience for Mark Hughes he remembers feeling "shell-shocked" at the end of the game. Arsenal had just scored six and Blackburn's sense of anguish was compounded by what the visiting players considered to be over-enthusiastic celebrations from Arsène Wenger's victorious team in the tunnel.
Three weeks on, Blackburn will quickly get an opportunity for retribution at Ewood Park today, having clambered away from the bottom six with a burst of impressive results that suddenly makes them one of the Premiership's in-form teams. "The Arsenal game was a turning point for us," the midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen said last night, reflecting on a sequence of four straight victories that have taken them to 11th. "They can jump around as much as they want but this is a new game and hopefully we will be the ones who are celebrating this time. Those six goals will count for nothing when the game starts."
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The 6-2 thrashing was the heaviest defeat Hughes has experienced as a manager, but he said he had used the experience as a motivational tool for his players, leading to Premiership victories over Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Wigan, as well as a 4-1 thrashing of Everton at Goodison Park in the FA Cup third round last weekend.
"Our professional pride was hurt at Arsenal," said Hughes. "It wasn't nice seeing the newspaper headlines the following morning. It's hard to accept conceding six goals even in a school game. We actually felt we had played quite well in that game and that the score didn't reflect how we had done. But since then we have recovered extremely well. We've tightened up our defence and we're winning games."
Wenger has criticised Blackburn in the past because of what he perceived as unduly aggressive tactics. It is an accusation that Hughes has always denied but his players will be encouraged today to make it a physical game and not allow their opponents to find their passing rhythm. Arsenal may have scored nine goals in two cup ties against Liverpool at Anfield during the last week but they have had an erratic record in the north of England over recent seasons and Sam Allardyce, the Bolton manager, has spoken of them being vulnerable when playing the more physical and direct teams.
"It's not about kicking people," said Pedersen. "It's about working hard and pressing them all over the field. If we can stop Arsenal playing their way, then we can beat them - but we wouldn't go out with the intentions of trying to kick people.
"There was a reason why we finished in sixth place last season and it wasn't because we were kicking people. We beat Manchester United home and away, we beat Arsenal and we beat Chelsea. We achieved a lot but we never got the credit we deserved because of this physical tag."
will liverpool's season be save then? 