Sam Allardyce insists Vince Grella is not leaving Blackburn, after seeing him play an hour against Sydney.
Rovers wrap up pre-season trip Down Under with a narrow win
Sam Allardyce insists Vince Grella is not leaving Blackburn, after seeing him play an hour against Sydney.
Rovers wrapped up their pre-season preparations in Australia on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over the hosts in the Sydney Festival of Football.
Brett Emerton and Morten Gamst Pedersen got the goals for the Premier League outfit, while Alex Brosque pulled one back for their A-League opponents nine minutes from time.
Allardyce was delighted to see his side put in a decent showing, especially as the new English season is now only a fortnight away.
He said: "We wanted to get our strongest side out today, which we did, and I think the first half showed that we played some really good football. It only produced one goal, but it should have been more than that.
"We got the second goal in the second half, but there was a good fight back by Sydney. But it was a good all-round performance by the players - lots of good football and lots of good chances and two very good goals."
Build-up
Allardyce was also pleased to see Emerton step up his return to full fitness with a well-taken opener.
"He sneaked into the box well off a long free-kick and the chest and volley were really good," he said.
"He got another 60 minutes under his belt. Vince did as well, which is very good for us in the build-up to the season. There are only two weeks to go now, so there is not a lot of time left."
On Grella, Allardyce sought to play down reports suggesting he could soon be on his way to Turkish giants Galatasaray.
He added: "There has been no contact from Galatasaray at all. Vince is still one of our players and we are glad to see him get 60 minutes in today."
