Managers forced to look on the bright side

OPTIMISM is one of the prerequisite requirements of being a Premier League manager and, while the supporters who were forced to endure this tepid affair might not agree, both Sam Allardyce and Phil Brown found reasons to be cheerful.

For Blackburn – who remained 12th, two points above 16th-placed Hull – it was the performance of the defence and the promise of striker Nikola Kalinic.

Rovers have now kept clean sheets in four of their last five games and after three successive goalless draws, want to make the next step.