Kean laments costly misses

Blackburn boss Steve Kean rued his team’s missed chances after a disappointing 3-1 loss at Stoke City on Saturday.

Rory Delap, Glenn Whelan and Peter Crouch netted for the hosts at the Britannia Stadium before Ruben Rochina scored a stunning late consolation goal in the English Premier League encounter.

Blackburn could have been level after the restart, only for Mauro Formica to squander a glorious chance after Rochina’s brilliant run.

Kean said while Formica’s miss was frustrating, his side had several other chances they failed to capitalise on.

“I think there was that chance (from Formica), but I’ve looked back on the images of not only that chance, but we’ve had another three of four chances,” he told Sky Sports.

“That’s the type of team we are we’re always making chances, we’re disappointed today we didn’t take them.”

“The difficult thing is at that moment it’s a lovely bit of skill from Rochina, but it just came for Formica slightly behind him so he never got clean contact on it and that was a big moment.”

“I think we’ll always make chances. Certainly the balance of play in the second half I thought we were taking the game to Stoke.”

Stoke City’s win ended a four-game losing run, and put them well clear of the relegation zone, while Rovers are struggling after just one victory in 13 matches.

Kean’s opposite number Tony Pulis offered the Scot some advice as the pressure continues to mount on the Rovers boss.

“I’ve been fortunate – or unfortunate – to be a manager for a long time and it is a lonely job when it is not going well,” Pulis said.

“The most important thing you learn and you have to focus on is you cannot affect what happens outside your club.”

“What you can affect is the players and the performances and you have to concentrate really hard – and that is difficult.”