MARK Hughes today insisted Andy Todd has the mental strength to bounce back from his mauling by the national Press.

Hughes admits the 30-year-old has been stunned by the level of critcism aimed at him since he caught Robin Van Persie in the face with his forearm during the dying seconds of Saturday's FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal.

The Rovers skipper, who has worked hard to curb his temper over the last 12 months, was accused of deliberately trying to injure the Dutchman, and the FA last night charged him with violent conduct.

However, Hughes is standing by his skipper and he believes Todd has the strength of character needed to come through one of the most turbulent weeks of his professional career.

Speaking ahead of tonight's home match with Crystal Palace, when Todd will be given the task of marking Eagles dangerman Andy Johnson, Hughes said: "You won't see any hesitancy from Andy Todd tonight. He's fully focused, he's a man that wants to do well, he is doing well in his career at the moment, and he wants that to continue.

"It's been a difficult weekend for him, his family and everyone involved with Blackburn Rovers, but he's a strong man mentally and I'm sure he'll come through it.

"Having spoken to Andy, he assures me it was purely an accidental collision, he told the referee the same thing at the time, and the referee himself said he saw nothing in it.

"That's a view I also share and that remains my take on it."

Hughes admits he was 'astounded' by the level of criticism Rovers - and Todd in particular - received in the national Press.

Many papers described Todd and his team-mates as 'thugs', whose sole intention was to kick Arsenal off the park using 'bully boy' tactics.

The sheer level of hostility towards Rovers has incensed Hughes and he felt so strongly about it that he called his players in for a special meeting on Monday, in which he reassured them he was happy with the way they went about the game.

"I think everyone involved with Blackburn Rovers has taken the comments personally. Everyone has been absolutely astounded by it," said Hughes.

"At the end of the day, we put in a very committed performance and showed we wanted to win the game, but we came up against a very good Arsenal side and we weren't able to get that final spot.

"We accept that, but what we don't accept is the level of criticism aimed at us.

"It was unfounded, unbalanced and not acceptable.

"We've spoken to a lot of people in the game over the last few days and a lot of them have said they couldn't believe the amount of stick we got.

"That reassures you that you are not seeing a completely different game to everybody else.

"People in the game understand the game and they knew what we had to try and do, and how we tried to go about our job."

Hughes must now lift his troops for what promises to be a tough test against a Palace side still fighting relegation.

Iain Dowie's men have slipped back into the bottom three but showed great fighting spirit to claim a point against Norwich at the weekend after trailing 3-1 at one stage.

"That shows the qualities they have so it should be a difficult game for us, but we've found that when we play teams at the wrong end of the league it gives us that little bit more time and space on the ball to create more than we do against the top sides."