Blackburn's Nelson devastated by Allardyce exit

Blackburn Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen said he felt "devastated" for Sam Allardyce following the club's decision to sack their manager yesterday.

Allardyce was fired despite Rovers being relatively well placed at 13th in the English Premier League table, five points above the relegation zone. But that was not enough to persuade Venky's, the Indian poultry group that bought Rovers for some 23 million pounds (36 million dollars) less than a month ago, to keep the 56-year-old Englishman at Ewood Park.

"I am devastated for Sam," Nelsen told Sky Sports News. "He had an absolutely fantastic relationship with all of the players. Everyone respected him. He took the club out of the doldrums really. I'm just getting over the shock of it."