Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince wants more from his players as they find themselves in the Premierships drop zone.

After losing 2-1 to Sunderland on the weekend, Ince has asked for more leadership from the players as they strive to push back up the table.

He said: "We just had a great opportunity after winning on Wednesday. I played a full strength side but the majority of them let me down.

"Samba was outstanding and Roque (Santa Cruz) was out of this world. The others have got to stand up and be counted.

"They have to realise they are in a dogfight and need to have that survival instinct about them.

"The disappointing thing is we capitulated when it went to 1-1. We did not have any leaders or characters to get us back together.

"It can't always come from the staff and the management, it has got to come from them. They are the ones out there.

"We know where we are now. There is a long way to go and I don't want to go over the top at the moment.

"We are under no illusions. We have not spent the most money in this league, probably the second lowest. We are changing things at the club but it will take time."