Blackburn captain Ryan Nelsen: We must stand up and be counted

"Paul's been great. He's taken a lot of flak when the players should have, we've made the mistakes; all the players have made mistakes we weren't making under Hughes so I feel bad for the manager. I think the players have got to stand up and be counted a lot more than what we have. We all know that, we understand that and we want to do it."

Nelsen also insisted reports of unrest among the players are wide of the mark.

"I don't know where it comes from," the New Zealander said. "It's been going on from pre-season to now. Whenever you hear there's sources from within, flags go up. It sounds a bit dodgy. It's not the case." "Everybody seems to be extremely happy. Obviously we're disappointed with where we are but there's nothing like that. Whoever this guy 'Mr Source' is he should come out and show himself."

Key to Blackburn's struggles has been the porous nature of their defence, with 11 goals conceded in the last four games, and centre-back Nelsen was frank about the situation.

He continued: "It's the worst I've ever been in in my career, to be honest. We've probably had the better of a game, gone behind and you can kind of see it seep through the team, there's this panic.

"But I'd be more worried if we didn't have the types of personalities that we have and it's a matter of time before we get out of it."

Defeat tomorrow would increase the pressure further on Ince, who yesterday saw his former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane resign as manager of Sunderland.

Ince expressed his disappointment at Keane's departure and blamed the media for forcing him out.

The Rovers boss said: "There are certain people out there who want to put you down and it's more so the young managers and that's the annoying thing, they don't want to give people a chance.

"Sometimes they can drive you out of a job and that's probably what they've done with Keano.

"I was very disappointed because Keano's an excellent young manager and we've been clamouring for new managers for years. We've had the same managers for the last 20 years doing the rounds.

"People forget what he did for Sunderland last season taking them from near the bottom of the Championship into the Premier League; not many managers could have done that."

The meeting with Liverpool follows on from Blackburn's 5-3 defeat by Manchester United in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, but Ince believes facing the top four could provide just the opportunity Rovers need.

"We're under no pressure to win the game," he continued. "It's a funny old game; our form's not been the best and we're desperate for a win so why can't it be against Liverpool?

"They're a good side; they've started off really well. They're not actually playing fantastically well but they're grinding out results, which is the sign of a side that can go on and win the Premier League.

"They're a team full of confidence and it's good to see them up there. But it's another chance to kick-start our season because we know after tomorrow we've got five or six games where we should be picking up points."

Ince could be without Brett Emerton and Roque Santa Cruz after both picked up knocks against Manchester United. Zurab Khizanishvili (groin) is out, but Chris Samba and Keith Andrews will return.

One player who will be desperate to impress is former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock, and Ince has lavished praise on the England hopeful.

"He's been awesome," added Ince. "Every game, every training session, he comes and gives 110%. He's a top-class player and we need everyone to be like Stephen Warnock."