Roy Hodgson has thrown down the gauntlet to his Fulham players to improve their poor away form - but admitted they need a little bit of luck on their travels.

The Cottagers travel to Blackburn Rovers in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday looking to record their first league away win in 30 games.

It is a dreadful run which Hodgson is determined to change and he has urged his players to stand up and be counted.

"Managers are always looking for players in their squads to have broad enough shoulders to put the overcoat on and take the responsibility," said Hodgson.

"I have no need to be critical of my team in that way, but what we really need to break that circle is a result.

"We are a quiet team to some extent. We do not have very obvious leaders who scream and shout their way through the games, but there are a lot of good players.

"I fully believe in the hard work they are putting in and the desire to stay in the league by playing properly will work. We will also need a bit of luck.

"Our away form has been bad and I would like to think that in every training session we have been trying to improve the mentality of the players.

"If you are going to win away from home you have to be able to defend.

"We also have to work on scoring goals. If a team is confident then they can score goals."

Hodgson returns to Ewood Park where he spent 17 months in charge before he was sacked in November 1998.

Hodgson believes he never got the credit he deserved for leading Rovers into the UEFA Cup.

He added: "I do not feel I have anything to prove to Blackburn. People get sacked in jobs when they are near the bottom of the table.

"I think I was unlucky to be sacked given the injuries I had that season and I feel that maybe I do not get as much credit for turning a team which avoided relegation into a side which got into the UEFA Cup.

"I drove the expectations up and, thanks the injury situation, I paid for that with my job."

Fulham will be without Alexei Smertin, Philippe Christanval and Jari Litmanen who all have muscle problems.

However, Leon Andreasen is available for selection after he served his one-game suspension.

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