West Ham United-Blackburn Rovers Preview

Aug 27, 2009 - 5:29 PM WALTER SIMON STATS European Football Writer=

LONDON (SE) - Jack Collison has thanked the West Ham fans for the support he has received following the tragic death of his father as he continues to play through his heartache at Blackburn on Saturday.

Wales international Collison turned out for the Hammers for their controversial 3-1 extra-time League Cup victory over Millwall in midweek just 48 hours after Ian died in a road accident on the M25 motorway.

Collison was given a standing ovation by the Upton Park crowd and returned the favour by staying out on the pitch for five minutes applauding them afterwards.

Collison said: "I just want to thank our fans for their tremendous support at what is such a difficult time for me and my family.

"It was incredible. It is something I will never ever forget and I will be trying my best to repay them on the pitch in all matches."

It has been traumatic seven days for West Ham with defender Callum Davenport involved in a near fatal knife attack at his home in Bedford, Collison's tragedy and then the violence surrounding their cup tie with Millwall.

Fans clashed with police both before and after the game with one man taken to hospital following stab wounds to his chest and the Football Association are set to issue a number of lifetime bans to the perpetrators.

Manager Gianfranco Zola though believes Collison's bravery and maturity has been a shining light in these troubled times for the club.

Zola said: "He told me straight away that he wanted to play. He wanted to be here and I just decided that he had to play.

"He made himself available. He showed what kind of boy he is. Not many would have done that."

Zola is without strikers Dean Ashton and Luis Boa Morte, Swiss international Valon Behrami and full-back Henrita Ilunga for the trip to Ewood Park.

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce will be without one of the club's most consistent performers in Stephen Warnock after the full-back agreed a eight million pounds move to Aston Villa.

Allardyce has been quick to snap up a replacement in Pascal Chimbonda, who joins the club on a two million pounds deal from Tottenham.

Allardyce said: "It is the versatility I have chosen to go with rather than look perhaps for an out-and-out left back.

"He has huge experience of Premier League football and he is eager and ready to get away from Tottenham because he has not played enough games for them and he just wants to play football."

Allardyce was delighted to see David Dunn score his first goal for the club in 12 months, during the 3-1 Carling Cup win over Gillingham, and the Blackburn boss admits the 29-year-old midfielder is in returning to form after a long injury lay-off.

Allardyce said: "Dunny looked really good, he scored a very good goal and his general ability in and around the area to pass players into it.

"We shoved him in a position where he did not have to work out of possession so much because he has just come back from injury and right from the start he was quality.

"If we had had a few more players over the last two Premier League game showing that quality of finishing then we would have been going into the West Ham game with maybe three or four points than none."