Blackburn Rovers v Millwall
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Sixth Round Proper replay
7.30pm, Wednesday 13 March 2013
Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers FC
Live on ESPN
Winning clubs receive £360,000 from The FA's Prize Fund
Click here for fixtures
By Nicholas Veevers

Michael Appleton hopes to have his squad patched up and fit in time for Wednesday’s FA Cup replay against Millwall.

The Blackburn boss felt his side were victims of a strong physical approach from the Lions during their draw at the Den on Sunday.

Appleton already had a lengthy injury list going into the game, but then lost both Adam Henley and Bradley Orr during the tie and they are already ruled out of the replay.

And it was the reaction to the circumstances which his players found themselves in which pleased the former Portsmouth and Blackpool boss the most.

He said: “If you’d have asked me before the game, we would’ve wanted to come here and win.

“But with the way the game panned out with the amount of changes we had to make because of injuries, I’ve got to be delighted with the way the players stood up to it.

“There were a lot of tackles flying around today, and a couple of cheap shots out there which was a bit disappointing.

“But I think the game on Wednesday will be a completely different game so I’m delighted that we’ve now got an opportunity to go through.”

Rovers will now have the advantage of a home crowd when the Championship clubs meet again, having overcome a tough atmosphere and match.

And Appleton admits that the prospect of Sunday’s tie and the prize of an FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley had him itching to be back out there as a player.

He admitted: “I was joking to the players that if there was ever a game I’d like to come out of retirement to play, then it would probably have been this one.

“So that was the message that I was giving to the players. We knew we had to be competitive today and we knew we’d have to stand up to a lot of physically pressure and I thought we coped with it great.

“The crowd get right behind them and it can be intimidating but if you can come away with a result, it tastes a whole lot sweeter.”