Blackburn winger Pedersen: We can get back into Europe

Blackburn will face Portsmouth today, and Arsenal in a FA Cup replay on Wednesday. On Saturday they will face UEFA Cup rivals Bolton in an important clash.

Pedersen said: “The manager stressed to us before the Leverkusen match that he wanted us to be in as many competitions as possible by the time we play Arsenal in the replay on Wednesday.

“We are now out of Europe, though, so we just have to concentrate on the competitions that we have left.

“We have to make sure that we go as far as we can in the FA Cup and also climb the league.

“That’s why the Portsmouth game tomorrow is just as important as the Arsenal game.

“We still believe we can get back into Europe through the league, so we have to beat them.

“It is the first of many big games coming up for us, so we have to get the Leverkusen defeat out of our heads.”