Kean has to be content will ‘little steps’

WHEN Blackburn boss Steve Kean needed one of his senior men to come forward to try save his job, it was ironic it was a Junior who came to his rescue.

Junior Hoilett has stood up to be counted in Rovers’ hour of need.

Hoilett cancelled out Lee Bowyer’s opener at the end of the first period on Saturday on another tough day for Kean, under pressure from owners Venkys as his side anxiously look over their shoulders.

Kean reserved particular praise for Hoilett, who pounced on an error by Liam Ridgewell to burst clear and round goalkeeper Ben Foster before slotting home.

Kean said: “Junior has shown he can play on any side and if you’re a defender and he’s running at you he can petrify you with his touch and his pace.”

However, the hard-earned point came at a price with Hoilett limping off with a tight hamstring and Ryan Nelsen and Roque Santa Cruz also having to leave the pitch early.

Kean admitted his side missed a chance to take a “big leap” towards Barclays Premier League safety.

“I wanted to take a big leap today but we’re taking little steps and we just have to keep chipping away,” he said.

“If all the teams around you pick up wins and you only get a point you’re massively disappointed.

“But today we’re probably a little bit better off than when we started.”

Injury problems also continue to hit Birmingham’s bid for survival with central defender Roger Johnson forced off after suffering a slight concussion in a first-half melee.

Blues boss Alex McLeish said: “Roger was a little bit groggy. He was desperate to go back on but I wasn’t going to compromise his health. He’s far too important a player for me.”

McLeish admitted his disappointment over Liam Ridgewell’s howler which led to the equaliser for Hoilett, but went on to praise his player for the way he recovered from his error.

McLeish added: “We can’t afford to give those sorts of gifts away but we came back in the second half. We really could have crumbled after that but we had our backs to the wall.

“It was a bad moment for the player (Ridgewell) but the next challenge for him was to see if he could recover from it and that’s what he did.

“In the end I’m happy with the point.You can never rule Blackburn out with their long throws and some excellent footballers.”