Coyle wants to see passion

The Premier League's bottom two sides meet at Ewood Park on Tuesday evening with Wanderers knowing if they fail to win they will be rooted to the foot of the table for Christmas. That is a position from which only one club - West Brom in 2004/5 - have survived relegation. Coyle has called for mental toughness over the next few weeks but he believes something else will also be required against their Lancashire neighbours. "I want players to go and express themselves and show they are in the best game in the world," said the Scot. "They are unbelievably well paid for it and they have supporters who earn average wages and have families to provide for but who want to come (to games) and are passionate about their team. "I want the players to show that passion, show that for the supporters. "When they do that all the ability will kick in but they must be prepared to come with the hard work and desire to win games." Speculation has been growing that should one team lose then it would cost their manager their job but Coyle's counterpart Steve Kean appears to be under much more pressure. He has had to face fans protests for most of the campaign and although it has not yet reached that stage at the Reebok Stadium Coyle knows managers in their position have to expect criticism. "We are all under the same umbrella in terms of the league and trying to win games," he added. "Steve is the same as myself in having been in the game a long time and we understand how it works. "If people are not happy or frustrated then they are going to voice their opinion. "It is the nature of being a manager but you have to be thick-skinned and have the mental strength to see through that. "At this club we never ever get too high so it is important not to get too low. "But we know we can win games and can get ourselves out of trouble and Steve probably feels the same way at Blackburn."