Blackburn forward Marvin Emnes admits his side must improve defensively if they are to climb the Championship table.

Rovers have managed just one clean sheet this season and saw a winning position slip away yet again last weekend when they went down 2-1 at Aston Villa after Sam Gallagher had given them a second-half lead.

Blackburn are second from bottom in the Championship table but are only two points adrift of Cardiff in the final safe spot.

Emnes, who is on loan at Ewood Park from Swansea, is confident Rovers can pull away from danger, but he is well aware they need to tighten up at the back if results are to improve. “It’s like deja-vu every game,” he told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“It seems to be every time we score a goal it doesn’t take long for the opposition to get the equaliser, which we need to work on. “To lose the game like that is frustrating because we do need the points.

“We play some good football. Obviously there are times in a game where we get under pressure and we’ve got to deal with it. “But we work hard and as a team we fight for each other.

If we keep working hard and improve ourselves from a defensive point of view, we should be alright.”

Blackburn are 1.85 to be relegated this season while Cardiff can be backed at 4.75. Rovers host Brentford in their next Championship fixture before tough games against promotion hopefuls Newcastle (a) and Huddersfield (h).