Givet has not made a first-team appearance for Blackburn for two months, but Kean wanted the Frenchman in his side for the game at the Liberty Stadium.

However, he was not even on the bench in South Wales after Kean confirmed he had spoken to the 30-year-old earlier on Saturday.

Reports have suggested that Givet is looking to leave Ewood Park in the summer and, while Kean stopped short of saying the stopper had refused to play, he said: "It was apparent when I spoke to Gael this morning he wasn't anywhere near in the right frame of mind to play today, whether starting or on the bench.

Head not right

"I will speak to him again, and if he is in a better frame of mind then great, but he was nowhere near in the right frame of mind today.

"I can't get inside somebody's head, I can only say how much we and his team-mates need him.

"If you look at David Dunn with his hamstring, he is having injections to play.

"We need guys who want to play even if they are injured or their heads are not quite right, but I would rather keep the conversation between myself and Gael private.

"We need everyone to keep pushing as I believe we need two wins and a draw from our remaining games (to stay up)."

He added: "I said (to Givet) 'We need you to play today, we need you to start today' and he was nowhere near in the right frame of mind to do it."