Rovers to rely on domestic virtues

Football

Blackburn Rovers' new training centre in the Ribble Valley may be the most modern in Britain, but the philosophy within it is still rooted in the past.

As the mist slowly lifted yesterday, Ray Harford, the Rovers' manager, said he would ask his team to show the "British bulldog spirit" when they open their Champions' League campaign against Spartak Moscow tonight.

Harford said his team were "best suited to playing with a high tempo" and that he would be looking for the same combination of "power, pace and pressure" which won them the domestic championship last season.

However, a year ago today that same formula also saw them knocked out of the Uefa Cup in the first round by the Swedish part-timers Trelleborgs. It may work in the hurly-burly of the Premiership, but it is a style which has rarely succeeded in the international arena.

Terry Venables and Alex Ferguson have both turned their backs on it, and even George Graham's Arsenal - whom Harford likens his team to - had to adapt their game to reap European success.

Harford's belief that Rovers should "play our own game" follows ironically from their attempting to play in more sohisticated fashion in the early weeks of the domestic season. Rovers' results have not gone well, and part of the reason, said Harford, was that "we have played differently. We have not been as passionate in tempo and aggression.

"We have thought 'we are the champions, we can play a bit', but we are not that good at it. We are good when we are playing our high-tempo game. There is a feeling that our game does not work in Europe against better technicians. It is a matter of seeing if we can sustain it long enough to change their game.

"Obviously the danger in European football is that if you keep giving the ball away, you are not going to get it back again. They like plenty of time on the ball - but will they be brave enough to play with it in areas where they do not want to get caught?"

Tim Sherwood, the Rovers' captain, concurs, but listening between the cliches, one senses that he does so with a certain reluctance. "I think we been playing better this year," he said, "especially possession-wise. But we have not got the results so we have reverted to our strengths - getting the ball forward to Alan Shearer as quick as we can."

Harford noted that the increased midfield passing meant Shearer and Chris Sutton were crowded by defenders by the time the ball was finally moved forward. But to revert to this style in European football, when Rovers' strikers will be surrounded from the kick-off, smacks of a lack of awareness that goes against Harford's reputation and tactical nous.

Tonight's opposition has a wealth of European and international experience. Harford compared their sweeper, Viktor Onopko, to Franz Beckenbauer in the way he comes forward from the back. Pursued by many western clubs, he is apparently destined for Real Oveido in Spain once the Champions' League finishes.

Rovers are likely to continue with Mike Newell in attack and Chris Sutton on the bench. Spartak do not travel well and power, pace and pressure may suffice tonight. This combination may even get Rovers out of a weak group, but if they do not add patience, passing and poise to their list of p's, they will go no further.

Blackburn Rovers (probable, 4-4-2): Flowers; Berg, Pearce, Hendry, Le Saux; Ripley, Sherwood, Batty, Holmes; Newell, Shearer.

Spartak Moscow (probable, 4-4-2): Cherchesov; Khlestov, Tsymbalar, Onopko, Nikiforov; Kulkov, Pyatnitski, Alenitchev, Konovalov; Yuran, Schmarov.