BLACKBURN Rovers outcast Leon Best was booed off by his own fans while playing for Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday night.
The Rovers striker was replaced by Craig Mackail-Smith 68 minutes into Brighton’s 0-0 home draw with Huddersfield Town.
MORE TOP STORIES:
The decision was greeted by cheers and then jeers by Seagulls supporters.
But Chris Hughton played down their response after the match.
The Brighton boss, whose side’s 1-0 victory at Rovers last month was the only time they have scored in their past six games, said: “I don’t think it was personal.
“We’ve got a super crowd that get behind us but they are probably at the moment feeling what we are all feeling, which is frustration that we are not getting the results we need and not scoring the goals we need.”
Best has yet to score in 12 appearances for the Seagulls since signing for them on loan in January until the end of the season.
The 28-year-old spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Derby County where he also failed to find the net in 20 appearances, 17 of which came from the bench.
Best joined Rovers for £3m from Newcastle United July 2012.
But he has not played for the club’s first team since October 2013 and he spent the second half of last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday where he scored five goals in 16 appearances.
The Republic of Ireland international has 14 months remaining on his £32,000-per-week Rovers contract.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel