Rovers boss Kean to justify his comments

Last updated : 01 December 2011 By Michael Morris

kean_cupFirstly, as a Cardiff fan I find that sour grapes from Kean who's side was comfortably beaten by a Cardiff team who went about their business in a professional and industrious manner.

Approx 800 Blackburn fans made the trip South and judging the many phone in's on the radio to a man they were all unhappy with what they saw from Kean and his side.

Kean said: “We forfeited our chance in this competition to get to a cup final and we must treat Swansea like a cup final.”

He admits he gave the wrong impression and responded on Wednesday by telling the Blackburn official website:

"My comments at the Press Conference were taken out of context. There is absolutely no way that we would ever consciously forfeit a game, quite the opposite.

"What I was trying to say was that by not winning we had forfeited an opportunity to take another step towards a Wembley final. If my explanation or wording was vague or unclear then I regret that.

"I want to stress that both of the major knockout competitions are massively important to us, but the Premier League will always be our primary objective.

"I am a big fan of the Carling Cup and we all dearly wanted to continue our journey and gain a place in the semi-final. Unfortunately it wasn't to be, but I refute in the strongest possible terms any suggestion that we didn't treat the competition with due respect.

"However, I make no excuses for recognising the importance of Saturday's game with Swansea and basing my decisions accordingly - as the manager I have to assess every situation on its merits."