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Olsson focused on Baggies

Image: Olsson: Staying positive

Martin Olsson insists Blackburn are keen to avenge their Stoke City defeat with success at West Brom.

Rovers stopper positive ahead of Hawthorns clash

Blackburn defender Martin Olsson insists the club are keen to avenge their Stoke City defeat with success at West Brom. Rovers slipped to a disappointing 2-0 home loss to Stoke on Boxing Day, much to the fans' frustration. The club's faithful vented their anger at the club's new owners following the defeat over their decision to axe Sam Allardyce. Olsson says the players are hurting after losing to The Potters, although they are focused on winning at The Hawthorns to give new boss Steve Kean a first success.

Professional

"Everyone is down of course but we are professionals and we need to move on," he told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph. "West Brom away will be important for us. "Everyone is disappointed but we will all move on and Keano is telling us we have to prove everyone wrong the next time we play. "It was a surprise when Big Sam went but Kean is a good guy and has taken some good training sessions. We are all behind him and he is a very positive guy. "We work hard to do what he tells us. We have to focus on West Brom." Olsson feels that playing away from home could benefit the players with fans already unhappy with new owners Venky's. Blackburn are still six points clear of the bottom three and the Swedish stopper knows they have to turn things around.
Pressure
"Maybe there is more pressure playing at home and to try and get the win from the fans," he continued. "It does not matter where we play, we just need to play our football and get three points. "If we just get a win we will relax more, but this period is very hard and it puts a lot of pressure on a lot of us and that is why we are making mistakes. "If we get that win we will relax more and start playing some good football. I think we can win these games but we just need to focus and play our best. "We are trying to be more positive. Even the formation we are playing, everyone wants to attack. It is coming slowly. There are still lots of games left." Youngster Grant Hanley was handed a surprise start against Stoke by Kean and the club's new manager was more than happy selecting him in place of Christopher Samba. "It is never easy, Chris Samba failed a fitness test on the morning of the match, so Grant came in," Kean told the club's official website. "He played away at Villa last year and did well, so I had no qualms in giving him his first home start. "He's an up and coming emerging young player, so that is another game under his belt. "I'm sure he'll play many more games for the club."

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