Samba praises Indian fans

Blackburn defender Christopher Samba was amazed by the support for his team at the Balewadi Sports Complex.

Several fans assembled at the stadium cheered for Samba each time he touched the ball during their match against Pune FC on Friday, in their mid-season tour of India.

“We didn’t know we had so much impact on the fans here,” Samba said.

“When you come and people cheer for you, you realize that Premier League is everywhere. And everywhere you watch the Premier League.”

Manager Steve Kean spoke along the same lines and mentioned the effect the fans’ support had in his dressing room.

“We were quite surprised with the noises. They didn’t need an iPod in the dressing room to play some music or listen to some band. The amount and volume of support was just fantastic,” Kean said.

Samba thanked Pune FC for putting up a competitive performance, in Blackburn’s 3-0 win over their 10-man counterparts.

“We showed respect (to our opponents). We came in the game saying we want to start strong and to win possession straight away. To play in the opposition half was also part of our plan. So we wanted to play our normal game,” he said.

“Congratulations to Pune FC. They put in a great effort. The send-off spoiled the game. They had a couple of tries. But at the end I hope it was a good show for the fans.”