Blackburn manager Steve Kean praises stifling tactic against Arsenal

Steve Kean (Getty Images)

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Steve Kean has praised his side’s tactical approach against Arsenal which earned Blackburn a vital point in the relegation scrap.

Although Arsene Wenger’s side secured a large amount of possession, Arsenal struggle to convert their chances and Kean believes it was the stifling tactic he deployed which secured the 0-0 draw.

“We set out a plan to try and make sure the Arsenal midfield three didn’t have as much time on the ball as they liked and I thought we did that really well in the first half,” said Kean.

“Then when we lost a man we thought here we go but we showed good determination and good togetherness. 

“We tucked the wingers in and tried to keep the pressure on the midfield group. We showed a fantastic appetite to go and get something from the game.”

Kean highlighted Arsenal’s threatening players and revealed he instructed his players to shut them down as quickly as possible.

“We tried to focus all week on making sure that when Jack Wilshere and Song and Nasri were on the ball that we had early pressure,” Kean said.

“Our midfield three were tremendous at that. That helped Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen hold a good defensive line so that was our main focus and we did it well.”

Blackburn were reduced to ten men when Steven N’Zonzi clattered into Laurent Koscielny with 15 minutes to spare but Kean defender his midfielder’s challenge.

“When I first saw the incident I thought it looked quite nasty but when I saw it in slow motion it shows he got something on the ball,” the Rovers boss said.

“Sometimes it’s red and sometimes it’s yellow and the referee made the decision.

“The player is devastated because he is not a malicious player. He thought he made a genuine attempt for a 50/50 ball and he was gutted.”

Following Arsenal’s slip, Kean tipped Sir Alex Ferguson’s side for the title but maintained he is only focussed on his side.

“It’s going to very tough for anybody chasing Manchester United.

“We’ve got our own goals and targets to make and unfortunately we took points off Arsenal today but that is about us.

“It is going to be tight but tough for anybody to catch United.”