THE almost relentless tedium of the international break has now ended and Saturday football returns to Ewood.

No doubt Martin Samuelsen’s 23 minutes of football – and the effort of scoring – will have handed Owen Coyle another reason to keep him in his tracksuit as other players will no doubt have been a whizz in training.

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But all this is the sound of a stuck record so I’ll change the tune.

No matter who turns out for Rovers on Saturday the minimum expected is that they give 100 per cent.

After two weeks without a game every man-jack of them should be champing at the bit to turn their club’s season around.

The players available can all pick a pass and if there are no passengers then I see no reason why Rovers cannot play good football AND win.

I’m not glossing over the fact that we have lots to protest about and I support any well-organised movement to rid ourselves of the owners.

But there is a time and a place and vital home games require support not hindrance.

As far as the football goes, we can rightly moan that Marvin Emnes’ phantom equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday is now shown to referees as an object lesson in how NOT to officiate, and ponder how much that butterfly flapping its wings – or rather the linesman flapping his flag – in Blackburn, thus denying us at least a point, led to a lack of momentum in Birmingham later that week.

But feeling sorry for ourselves is not going to make the season any easier.

The players have had time to lick their wounds and the next ‘clump’ of five games must see Rovers either unbeaten, or with at least with eight or nine points.

Given we only have eight from 11 games so far this season that may seem like asking for the moon on a stick.

But the ineptitude shown by players and management so far has to stop now and we demand hard points rather than soft excuses.