The Glenn Keeley column

I HAVE always been a fan of Paul Gallagher - he's a very bright, intelligent player who makes things happen and it's nice to see him back among the goals.

He's got a lot of potential and there's no doubt that he's got the quality, but now he's starting to show it.

I was always surprised that he never really got an opportunity under Graeme Souness but now he's certainly taking his chance.

It's not always easy for centre forwards because they rely so heavily on other players to succeed.

I always remember Alan Shearer leading up to Euro 96. He'd failed to score in 12 games, but I agreed with Terry Venables when he said that he'd only had one real chance to score and that can often be said of other players.

A striker relies on service and that has been a problem for Rovers. It's a big factor in Jon Stead not having scored so far. It wasn't for the want of trying but the chances were few and far between.

With Gallagher having scored two in two, it's taken the pressure off Paul Dickov a little bit, which is nice because you never want to get too reliant on one player.

Dickov has done a tremendous job, he's worked tirelessly and I think that's one of the main reasons why the fans have taken to him so quickly. You can't always have a good game but you can always work hard and, like the fans, I can't fault a player who gives their all.

The win last weekend was a lovely reward for all of the hard work lately. The players have battled and scrapped for every point and it was nice to finally get that win.

The first thing was not losing games and we managed four draws before finally turning the draw into a win which took us off the bottom of the table.

It was never going to be easy for Mark Hughes when he came in because he inherited a squad which was then struck down by injuries. Because of the transfer window, all of Hughes's work has to be done on the training ground, working with the players who were already there.

It has been important to rebuild morale and confidence in the squad and it seems to be paying off.

We all have to remember that the season is far from over, there's plenty of games still to play and plenty of points to be won.

The important thing now is to make it count by taking the result from Fulham into Saturday's home match with Tottenham.

Bosses can have a huge influence

THREE of the top four teams in the Premier League may have been the ones you would expect with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all competing for the title but things seem to be a bit more interesting this time around.

Everton, Bolton and Middlesbrough have been the surprise packages so far, but their success is no shock to me.

Although those clubs will never be able to compete in terms of finances with the big three, they have proved that under the stewardship of great managers they can more than hold their own.

Bolton Wanderers are finally starting to reap the rewards of some shrewd dealings in the transfer market.

Sam Allardyce seems to have a great knack of signing people and turning them into great players.

Kevin Davies is a great example. It was obvious that he had ability but it just didn't happen for him at Blackburn. However, Sam has rebuilt his confidence and his career.

David Moyes is another who has probably surprised people.

Everton were tipped to do nothing more than stay up but look at them now.

They are a hard working, well organised side with excellent team spirit, and some players are playing above themselves.

Managers exert a huge influence on clubs, but it takes time, so fans have to be patient.