In an extraordinary outburst, Ince claimed that people were desperate to see the likes of him and Roy Keane - who resigned as manager of Sunderland on Wednesday - fail because of the success they enjoyed as 'snarling' midfield players at Old Trafford.

Blackburn are 19th in the Premier League and lost 1-3 to Liverpool, the leaders, at Ewood Park yesterday.

Should West Bromwich Albion win at home to Portsmouth today, Blackburn would prop up the table with no wins in 10 league matches, which could spell the end of Ince's five-month reign.

More likely, though, is the prospect of Ince being shown the door should Blackburn fail to take anything from their subsequent league games at home to Wigan Athletic and away to Stoke City.

Graeme Souness, the former Blackburn manager whose name was sung lustily by the club's supporters during the 3-5 League Cup quarter-final defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday, has been touted as a possible successor, with Tugay Kerimoglu operating alongside the Scot in a player-assistant manager capacity.

'I think there are people out to get us,' Ince said. 'They look at Keane and I in our Manchester United days and see us as snarling old people, but we are not like that. We are nice guys, family men.

'I think people are envious and don't want us to succeed. I want people to understand the hard facts and not just focus on two men who are trying to make their way and kick us around all the bloody time.'

The Times, London