The importance of winning more than you lose

GOOD news: the natural order is restored. Blackburn are back to their rightful spot of ninth in the Premier League.

It was looking a bit hairy for a moment there, what with winning at Newcastle, rising to seventh and Benni McCarthy mentioning those two little words that are the Premier League’s equivalent of “The Scottish Play”.

No player in any team hovering around the top eight should ever be allowed to say “Champions League”, as uttering those words leads to an instant downturn in fortunes.

Anyway, Blackburn’s defeat at West Ham, coupled with Manchester City’s victory over Tottenham, means that Rovers are once again facing the prospect of nothing whatsoever.

“It wasn’t one of our better performances, and on this occasion, we haven’t got anything for our efforts,” said Blackburn manager Mark Hughes immediately after Saturday’s game. So that’s it, then? No more talk of Europe?

Spoke too soon. “But it may not be as bad as it might have been. Villa have also been beaten, so perhaps there has not been too much damage done.”

So what’s the answer then? How do Blackburn get those extra vital points between now and the end of the season, to lift them up to, say, eighth?

“We need to win more games than we lose between now and the end of the season,” Hughes said. “So losing today makes it more difficult for us.”

League table: www.skysports.com