Kean confident Samba will stay
Samba was stripped of the captaincy by Kean prior to the St Stephen’s Day defeat by Stoke after reportedly saying he wanted to quit in protest at the handling of former boss Sam Allardyces’ recent departure.
The Congolese international missed the Stoke clash and yesterday’s 3-1 Barclays Premier League win at West Brom with an ankle injury but Kean has cleared the air with the player.
Kean feels Samba showed enough determination in a fitness test yesterday to prove he has no intention of leaving.
Kean said: “He pushed himself for 35-40 minutes but he still felt his ankle. He was gutted.
“I’m convinced he will be fit for Sunderland (on January 1) and I am delighted to say he does not want to hand in that transfer request.”
There has been reports of further player unrest at Rovers but there seemed little sign of it in a lively performance at The Hawthorns which delivered Kean’s first win.
Nikola Kalinic twice put Rovers ahead either side of a Jerome Thomas equaliser but was then sent off shortly after Mame Biram Diouf added a third.
West Brom rallied and hit the bar but Blackburn held on after Gabriel Tamas was also dismissed for bringing down Diouf.
There was also evidence that Kean has the backing of the Rovers fans, who chanted his name, but it was clear their support does not extend to the club’s controversial new Indian owners.
West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo, meanwhile, felt his side contributed to their own downfall.
“Today was bad defending,” said the Italian. “After five minutes we were chasing the game already and it is tough in the Barclays Premier League.
“Generally we haven’t conceded too many goals to set-pieces but today we conceded two.
“We need to be better and pay attention defensively because you get punished very quickly.”
WEST BROM: Carson, Jara (Barnes 74), Scharner, Tamas, Shorey, Tchoyi, Mulumbu, Morrison (Cox 66), Dorrans, Thomas, Odemwingie.
BLACKBURN: Robinson (Bunn 46), Hanley, Nelsen, Olsson, Salgado (Hoilett 52), Emerton, Dunn, Pedersen, Kalinic, Mame Diouf, El-Hadji Diouf (Mwaruwari 82). Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
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