Blackburn boss Steve Kean hopes to ‘move on’ from Christopher Samba transfer saga

The Rovers manager left the 27-year-old out of the side that fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle United on Wednesday, insisting his captain was not in the right frame of mind

2 Feb 2012 12:39:00

By James McManus

More On :  Blackburn Rovers, Steve Kean, Christopher Samba
Christopher Samba, Blackburn
Getty Images

Blackburn boss Steve Kean has told club captain Christopher Samba to forget about a move away from the club now the transfer window has slammed shut and to start focussing on regaining his place in the side.

Don't Miss

The 27-year-old was the subject of much speculation throughout the window with the likes of QPR, Tottenham and PSG all interested following the ex-Hertha Berlin man's transfer request - which was rejected by the club owners Venky's.

Kean opted to leave Samba out of Wednesday's 2-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle United, stating that while the centre-back was fit, he was not in the correct state of mind to play.

“I didn't feel as though he was in the right frame of mind,” Kean told reporters.

"He was fit and available but that was my decision. It wasn't that Chris refused or anything, far from it.

"I felt the defence against Everton and Fulham did well enough that I wouldn't have changed it anyway.”

With Ryan Nelson leaving the club to sign for Tottenham late on in the window, Kean has called on Samba to put his desire to leave Ewood Park to one side and help ensure the club's Premier League survival.

"Obviously Chris had handed in a transfer request, wanted to leave the club, that was refused. We didn't have any [more] bids, which was good really because we were only going to turn them down.

"I'll sit down with Chris and I'll say, 'Let's move on. You're at the club, let's get back to what normally happens when the window closes', where his performance level is very high and I don't foresee any other problems.”

How do you stay up to date with football when on the move? With http://m.goal.com – your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.

Follow Goal.com on Twitter

Follow Goal.com on Facebook
 
play pause open close
Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.

Hosted by Joe Doyle
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.

"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.

"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."

"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."

Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
19:35 BST
And another point from today: Eden Hazard wasn't great. Don't think you can judge him on one performance though. What do you think? Is it just a case of too much hype around the Chelsea-bound Belgian?
Inside Goal.Com
  1. Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line

    England beat Norway 1-0 at Wembley, with the Manchester United man hitting an impressive winner to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012

  2. The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution

    The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market

  3. Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job

    The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday

  4. Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms

    The Northern Irishman inevitably expressed his delight at landing the Reds job but evidenced plenty of the steely resolve which could see him become a success at Anfield

  5. The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager

    Kenny Dalglish's sacking at the end of the season sparked a massive hunt for the next Anfield boss, and the former Swansea man has been chosen after several turned the job down