Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is contemplating selling Benni McCarthy in January while he rues the fact he could not afford a gamble on Portsmouth's in-form striker Aruna Dindane in the summer.

McCarthy is pushing for a move in the transfer window and Allardyce will consider a sale for the right price.

The Rovers manager meanwhile has been looking with envious eyes at Dindane, who visits Blackburn with the Premier League's bottom club on Saturday, after deciding against risking a move for the Ivory Coast international because he had only recently recovered from ruptured knee ligaments.

Allardyce said: "I think Benni has made it clear through his agent this week that he would like to see if there is anybody out there who would be wanting to take him and play him on a more regular basis than we are.

"As always when you have a player who is a little unhappy you will always look at the situation and makes sure that it suits you first, and if it does then it can get done.

"I understand the frustration and I have explained the situation not just to him but to everybody.

"David Dunn has been by far the most productive player in the team, he's basically stolen Benni's position and that's way it is at the moment.

"David has been doing fantastically well and he's been one of the main reasons why our home form has been that of a top-six side.

"It's a different kettle of fish away from home of course, where we look like a relegation side."

Portsmouth head north having turned around their disastrous early-season form, thanks in part to Dindane. The 28-year-old, Didier Drogba's strike partner for his country in the last World Cup, scored a hat-trick last weekend to bury the memories of an awful miss against Tottenham a fortnight previously.

Allardyce said: "It appears he misses a few but he's always in a position to score, that's the key thing.

"A lot of us looked at Dindane, we all knew what a good player he was but we were not in a position to risk the situation with the big injury that kept him out for such a long time,

"Portsmouth were the ones who took the chance and Portsmouth are the ones who are benefiting from someone who looks like a very, very good striker and who we will have to keep quiet tomorrow."

Blackburn will be chasing their fifth consecutive home victory tomorrow but are still third-from-bottom of the table, and Allardyce admits the pressure is already building because of their league position.

He added: "It matters a great deal because it brings an enormous amount of pressure on the club and on the players because all that's talked about is the R-word.

"The longer it continues the more difficult it becomes to get out of it.

"October was always going to be the most difficult month of the season, we played three of the top four teams in the country away from home, and it's a good thing we have got that out the way now."

Allardyce has virtually a full squad to choose from now that McCarthy has recovered from swine flu. Only Vince Grella, who has a nagging thigh injury, is missing.