Chris Samba has welcomed new Blackburn Rovers capture El Hadji Diouf, the former Sunderland striker.

Defender Samba told the Rovers website: "I know El-Hadji personally. He is a good player and it is better to have good players with us rather than against us.

"I'm very happy that he has decided to come here and help us."

The Senegalese international, who joined the club yesterday for an undisclosed fee, has a mixed reputation amongst football fans, but big Chris admits that people have often formed the wrong impression of Rovers' new signing.

"People are different on the pitch than they are in real life," he added.

"Some players express themselves on the pitch in a different way. I think El-Hadji has been misunderstood.

"He is not a bad player, I think maybe in the past he has just been overcommitted to what he was trying to do."