Grant buoyed by spirited display

West Ham manager Avram Grant was pleased with the fight his side showed in their 1-1 draw at Blackburn on Saturday.

The Hammers were behind when Ryan Nelsen bundled home from close range just after half-time but equalised with 13 minutes to play through substitute Junior Stanislas.

“I think we could have taken more (than a draw) because our performance deserved more,” Grant told Sky Sports.

“We created chances, we created half-chances, we had many things happening in the box but our decision-making was not so good. I’m very impressed with the spirit of the boys.”

“You saw the boys today – they didn’t give up, they fought in an impressive way and I am very pleased about this.”

Blackburn caretaker manager Steve Kean bemoaned the injuries that came out of the draw.

Highly rated defender Phil Jones could miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee while Jason Roberts (hamstring) and Christopher Samba (ankle) were also sidelined during the match.

“I think Phil Jones is going to be a long-term one,” a disappointed Kean said after the match.

“He’s got quite a bad knee injury, it’ll probably be four or five months, which is terrible.”

“He’ll have an examination in the morning and probably have surgery in the morning, too. Jason Roberts has picked up a hamstring injury. We don’t think Chris Samba is as bad, it’s a slight twist in his ankle.”