Hughes Blames Tiredness

Two goals from Steed Malbranque earned Fulham all three points in an eventful match at Ewood Park which saw two players sent off and Robbie Savage miss the first penalty of his career.

"We found we had no gas left in our tank and it was a poor performance by recent standards," Hughes said after the 3-1 defeat.

"Fulham have some tricky players who we never managed to get a grip of and we also contrived to miss several great chances ourselves."

Of defender Craig Short's sending off, the Rovers boss added: "Craig is very disappointed but he knows that he can't raise his hands in that fashion."