Ince Points to Team Spirit As Everton Are Cut to Quick

A common theme links Paul Ince's managerial debut at home to Macclesfield against Mansfield in October 2006 and his Premier League inauguration with Blackburn Rovers. Both saw the home team turn a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 defeat courtesy of an injury-time winner but, while the roles and surroundings have changed dramatically for the "Guv'nor", predictions of his demise have not. On the evidence so far his detractors may have an awfully long wait for the doom to descend.

At Moss Rose it was taking over a Macclesfield team at the foot of League Two that portrayed a brave move as suicidal. At Ewood Park it is reports of discontent among the squad he inherited and that has since suffered the loss of Brad Friedel and David Bentley which has prompted similar claims. Or maybe Ince, a ground-breaker of a player and manager, is simply too brash and too quick to pose with a Manchester United shirt for some?

"I've had that all my life," said Ince. "There probably are people out there who want to see me fail but that's football, that's life and it makes me more determined to make sure we do well at Blackburn Rovers. It's not just me, there are other people that happens to as well. It's just a case of getting used to it. It's my first game as a Premier League manager, we got three points and I just want to enjoy it."

Ince the manager is far more restrained in public than Ince the player ever was and he was fortunate to face on Saturday an Everton squad ill-prepared for the opening day and ill-equipped for the long, hard months ahead. There is also the lingering worry of how Blackburn might cope without the coveted Roque Santa Cruz, who was watched here by Sir Alex Ferguson and coolly converted Rovers' second moments after Yakubu had headed Everton in front, dousing their optimism in the process. But that is conjecture right now. Unmistakable was the spirit of a team that should have been out of sight before Mikel Arteta's audacious free-kick caught out Paul Robinson at his near post in the 45th minute and that poured forward at Stephen Warnock's free-kick in stoppage-time. Andre Ooijer's tap-in after an offside Ryan Nelson headed against the post brought a merited victory. These were not the signs of a divided dressing room.

"I don't really get any personal pleasures out of anything because I know football can change from one week to the next," added Ince. "But I just think over the last few weeks people have been trying to unsettle the whole club but all that crap we've had to suffer we've dispelled in 90 minutes of football at Goodison Park. That makes it sweeter for me. We could not have won here as we did without a team that is pulling in the same direction."

David Moyes is keeping quiet on Everton's current meager state, other than to accept responsibility for the club's lack of new signings despite not knowing his transfer budget until the summer recess was well under way. "We knew what the situation would be in May. Signing players was a priority at the end of last season and that hasn't changed," said the Everton manager. "I said in the summer that I needed to get five players. That could now be six or seven. But I'm not changing. I'm only going to bring quality in."

While Everton must be eternally grateful for the health of its academy their senior ranks are malnourished at present. The average age of the Everton bench was 18.5 on Saturday and not one outfield player there had appeared in the Premier League before. Moyes must have felt more like a secondary school teacher when he surveyed his options. Ince, even though it was just the first step with Rovers, glimpsed a brighter future out in front.

Man of the match Jason Roberts (Blackburn Rovers)