Steve Kean praises Blackburn's ‘really exceptional’ first-half display after QPR win

Blackburn manager Steve Kean has praised his side's "exceptional" first-half display that proved enough to take all three points against Mark Hughes’s QPR on his return to his former club.

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First-half goals from Yakubu, Stephen N’Zonzi and Junior Hoilett capped a fine first half for the home side that appeared to show they had shrugged off the disappointment of their 7-1 defeat to Arsenal last time out.

“I felt the first half display was really exceptional and I think we put to bed the disappointment of the Arsenal game,” Kean said in his post-match press conference.

“We worked really hard defensively this week trying to press the ball and keep a high line and I thought first half they were brilliant and then we had the Yakubu chance when he hit the bar that could have taken it to four and I felt after that QPR felt like they had nothing to lose.

“They started throwing everything at us, they changed their shape and I think after the first goal went in we had a bit of a wobble and a bit nervous which I think is understandable considering how many youngsters we had in the side.”

Yakubu's return was a welcome boost to Steve Kean whose side had coped woefully without their top scorer through suspension, failing to win a single game and it took the Nigerian just 15 minutes to show his manager just how important he is to their survival hopes.

“When Yakubu gets a goal like that the confidence comes back through the side, then we scored the second and third and nearly a fourth and you could see what a good goalscorer he is.

“When that first goal went in we had to change it a little bit as it got a little frantic, a little wobble and like the Arsenal match we will go on the training ground and make sure that second half doesn’t happen again.

“We are disappointed we never got a clean sheet because if the game had finished at half-time we would have moved up a few places, but three points is three points at the end of the day.

“It is now just continuing the belief and keep playing the way we are playing and knowing if we get the chances and they fall to the lads that have a nose for a goal like Yakubu because we have missed him and we are glad he is back.”

QPR manager Mark Hughes was returning to the ground where he was given his first chance in Premier League management but left Ewood Park ruing a first-half performance that left his side too much to do.

“You can’t give any Premier League team a three goal head-start,” Hughes said in his post-match press conference

“We were obviously very poor in the first-half, arguably the worst we have been since I walked through the door and maybe of any team I’ve been involved in.

“The contrast to the second-half was marked and there shouldn’t be that difference in performance in my view, first-half wasn’t acceptable and second-half we take a little bit of comfort from that to be honest.

“But you can’t give a team a three goal lead and expect to get back on level terms but in fairness we very nearly did it and that gives the players credit but they have to understand if you are going to win games then you can’t be fundamentally flawed in the first-half.”

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