Soccer: Harry Redknapp has criticised the fans who subjected Steve Kean to "horrific" abuse during Blackburn's 2-1 defeat against Bolton on Tuesday night.

Kean's future at Ewood Park was plunged into further doubt on Tuesday night as his team dropped to the foot of the Barclays Premier League with the loss against their fellow strugglers at Ewood Park.

Rovers fans unfurled 'Kean out' banners and chanted for the Scot's removal during the match, but Kean insisted after the game that he would not resign.

Redknapp was taken aback by the fierce nature of the criticism and thinks the Blackburn supporters went over the top.

"I have never seen it like that. That is horrific to stand and take that," the Tottenham boss said today. "I watched the game on TV. It was sad to see. The camera was forever going on people shouting abuse at him. I just felt sorry for him."

Blackburn have won just two matches this season and sit four points from safety despite having played one more game than most of their rivals.

Rovers fans have been calling for Kean's head for some time now, and pressure on the 44-year-old grew this week when a local newspaper started a campaign to have him removed from his position.

Kean's squad has been ravaged by a spate of injuries, however, and Redknapp thinks the fans failed to take that in to account on Tuesday night.

He said: "He has loads of injuries. I heard people saying today that the players weren't trying or weren't making the effort for him. That's absolute nonsense, a load of rubbish.

"They tried for their lives. He probably has three of his four best defenders missing and you need your best players. He had a left winger at left-back and a young midfielder playing right-back. He had a very weakened team out and they weren't just quite good enough.

"If he had (Ryan) Nelson and (Gael) Givet available, people who are really strong characters, they'd be a different team."