Blackburn can beat the drop as big Premier League games lie in wait

Blackburn have now gone odds-on in the Premier League betting to be relegated this season, but Steve Kean should look towards Southampton and Dave Jones for inspiration that the club can avoid the drop.

Kean has watched his team go eight Premier League games without a win and a total of three points from these fixtures is hardly form synonymous with a team likely to survive.

But Kean is a firm believer that the results of his team will turn around soon as it has not necessarily been poor performances and a lack of team unity that have seen his team slip to the foot of the standings.

Blackburn have taken only seven points from their opening 13 games, but the good news is that despite this dreadful start, they are still only four points from safety.

Only four teams in Premier League history have accrued a worse points tally at the same point of the season and it is unsurprising that each of these teams have ended up going down.

However, Everton and Southampton have made a start equal to Blackburn and have survived and it is 11/10 in the Premier League odds that they beat the drop.

Kean will not want to look too deeply into Everton’s survival as their improvement of form came largely as a result of the decision to bring in Joe Royle as manager to replace Mike Walker.

But Southampton opted not to make such a rash decision and were patient with Jones being the right man for the job.

He eventually repaid this faith by steering them to safety, albeit by just one position in the final standings in 1999.

A big few weeks lie ahead for Kean, but three home games in the next four fixtures against fellow relegation candidates Swansea, West Brom and Bolton look pivotal.

Some victories in these crunch clashes will certainly see Blackburn’s odds to be relegated lengthen from the current quote of 4/6 and given the way they are playing, a few wins can be expected.