Oceania’s Highest profile player Ryan Nelson has had a challenging few weeks playing in the English Premier League but remains upbeat about the future.
The Blackburn Rovers central defender was speaking at his club’s Brockhall training facility in Lancashire today and amidst discussion about Rovers latest dip in form he reaffirmed
his commitment to playing some part in the All Whites 2010 World Cup Qualifying campaign.
It has been three years since Nelsen last played for his country. Through a combination of injuries, bad timing, and the birth of his son Maxwell, Nelsen has been unable to make the
trip to represent his country. Nelsen is battling through a tough time in his career where Blackburn’s normally steady results have taken a turn for the worse.
“Admiral” Nelsen as the fans call him is the key to the Rovers back four but a run of heavy defeats including losses to Aston Villa, Wigan and the Carling Cup Quarter Final against
Arsenal last Tuesday night have put pressure on the Rovers captain. It is not just the defeats but the number of goals conceded that is of concern – 14 goals in 5 games and nine of those at
home.
Recent sending’s off (Nelsen himself has had 2 Red Cards already this season) have not helped and the team have been playing with 10 men for long spells. This is very difficult in a
league as competitive as this.
Nelsen said that the reasons for the dip in form were hard to pin down.
“Rovers did not just become a bad team overnight,” he said. “All teams go through a bad patch in the season and the job now is to analyse the errors, go back to basics and work
through them.
“There is no such thing as a perfect game and win lose or draw there are lessons to be learned.”
Nelson said that the recent form dip had nothing to do with the latest addition to his family and that it was purely coincidental.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Chelsea, Nelsen was upbeat about the chances of taking something from the game and providing a springboard for the rest of the
season.
“We have done well in the bigger games this season. The Chelsea game is a perfect opportunity to improve. We are not scared of them. They have world class players but so do we. We
are not in awe of them. If we can get a point that gives us more motivation for the other games”.
Nelsen said that Rovers were still in contention for a European place and that prospect excited the team.
“The club has extremely high standards and things are far from doom and gloom.”
Mark Hughes, the Blackburn manager, felt the club was going through a frustrating spell.
“Mistakes are always made in a game and sometimes you will get away with it other times you will not. There have been some communication breakdowns which the team is working hard to
remedy. It is a collective responsibility to get the defence solid again and this is an essential springboard to further progress.”