TIMOTHEE Dieng is happy to ride the rollercoaster of fan emotions now he is back in the City side.

With Romain Vincelot still suspended, his fellow Frenchman is set to start once more against Blackburn this afternoon.

Dieng has begun the new campaign well and was named man of the match in last week’s win at Gillingham.

It has been a good response from the midfielder after losing his place at the end of last season when he was subbed midway through the first half during the Sheffield United defeat on Easter Monday.

Dieng is delighted to get the doubters back onside but can understand why supporters get frustrated.

He said: “I’m happy because at the end of last season, I heard that some fans were not pleased with me.

“But that is football and you have to deal with it. When I’m on the pitch, I always try my best.

“Even me as a fan, sometimes I moan about a player when my team plays. I understand that is the reaction when you watch football.”

Dieng was on the bench for the season opener against Blackpool but was thrown in early after Adam Chicksen’s shocking cheekbone injury forced a reshuffle.

“Anything can happen in football and things change quickly,” he added.

“Even if you are on the bench, you have to be ready to come on and do well.

“I think that’s what I’ve done and I want to stay in the starting XI now.

“As a player you want to play every game. I’ve played three out of three this year so I’m happy and hopefully I can keep going like that.”

Stuart McCall is demanding a better display for City’s first competitive outing against Blackburn in 27 years. Dieng agrees that they need to improve on how they played in Kent for the visit of one of the promotion favourites.

He said: “Like the gaffer was saying after Gillingham, we have been average but we have won two games.

“I think it is quite a good sign when we can have an average performance and still win.

“Obviously we were happy because we won but we know that we have to do more. If we play like that against certain other teams then it will be difficult.

“But we’re looking forward to playing better against Blackburn. We are at home as well where we’ve had a very good run and confidence is high.”

Rovers are yet to get off the mark since being relegated from the Championship. Dieng admits it is a shock to see such a famous club drop into the third tier.

“I remember them winning the Premier League with Alan Shearer. They were always up there when I first started watching football.

“They are a massive club so to play against them is weird. But they are a League One team now and will have to deal with that.”