Dunn appears to bring Rovers relief

BLACKBURN boss Sam Allardyce hopes a fit-again David Dunn can breathe new life into his side’s push away from the Premier League drop zone after helping clinch three points against Wigan.

Dunn, whose season has been ravaged by hamstring and groin problems, was a half-time replacement for Benjani Mwaruwari and contributed to a vastly improved second-half performance.

Morten Gamst Pedersen’s free-kick and a superb finish from another substitute, Jason Roberts, earned victory although there were some frayed nerves after Charles N’Zogbia pulled one back late on.

Allardyce said: “It was important to get David back on the pitch. Even though he looked a little bit rusty, he’s a little bit closer to match fitness which is important for us.

“It was about getting David on because we weren’t passing the ball as well as we normally do. We were constantly giving the ball away to the opposition. David’s retention of the ball is one of the best.”

Allardyce knows how important the win was to his side, with tough away trips to Newcastle and Tottenham approaching.

Having controlled Chelsea for long periods at Ewood Park the previous week and ended up with nothing, the win over Wigan was a reverse performance, with the home side a little lucky to take the points.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez seethed over N’Zogbia’s disallowed effort towards the end of a grim first period, the winger having been adjudged to have pushed Pedersen en route to goal.

“I don’t know what was wrong with the goal,” said Martinez. “That was a real low point for us and it was mentally very tough to recover.”

Pedersen increased Wigan’s woes in the 58th minute when his free-kick from the right touchline evaded everyone in the box and curled into the top corner past a helpless Ali Al Habsi in the Latics’ goal.

Eight minutes later victory seemed assured for Rovers when the lively Brett Emerton crossed from the right and Roberts beat the offside trap to lash a fine first-time finish.

N’Zogbia gave the visitors hope when he drilled a free-kick home off the post in the 74th minute but the home side had the best late chances with Dunn somehow missing a sitter deep into injury time.

Allardyce added: “Hopefully this will give us the platform to move forward into two very difficult away games this week. We’ve taken the pressure off.

“We’re now out of the bottom three which is very, very important.”

Wigan, meanwhile, slipped into the relegation zone and Martinez admitted his side had to learn the harsh lessons ahead of home games against Liverpool and West Brom.

The Spaniard was keen to pick the positives of his side’s performance and will take plenty of optimism back to the DW Stadium after a vastly improved display to the one that saw them lose at Fulham the previous week.

Martinez said: “The reaction and the way we showed character means it is a case of just learning from this and making sure when you play well you take your chances and you take points.”