ABOUT five years ago to the day, Manchester United took a point from Ewood but left about 20,000 broken hearts as Rovers were relegated to the Nationwide League.

For any Rovers fan who had been eyeing the fixture list a few weeks ago the symmetry of that season and this was almost alarming.

Fortunately, the events of the past weeks had banished the fears that United could send us down again and this fixture could be enjoyed rather than feared as stories of our decline had been grossly exaggerated.

But if there was one team that left Ewood in what I would consider decline it was the team from Manchester.

Make no mistake, Rovers cruised to victory and never really left second gear, the opponents were shockingly ordinary. Okay, they were without their three principal players in Van Nistelrooy, Keane and Scholes but their replacements made pub players look like Henry and Vieira.

There's always a lot of satisfaction to be gained from a win against United.

When you think back to all the controversy of previous games, the victories of the past two seasons are all the sweeter.

Then there was the unforgiveable time when Ferguson pretended not to know that they had sent us down after the goalless draw five years ago. It was an act that owed more to his breathtaking arrogance rather than a mere oversight.

With all that in mind, it's little wonder that Rovers fans celebrated as hard after Saturday's game than they have done all season.

A win against United that guaranteed Premiership safety? Absolute Utopia.

In what was a pretty nondescript game it was either going to be a mistake or a piece of brilliance that broke the deadlock.

And what a goal it was when it came, no mistakes needed, just pure brilliance from two exciting talents.

A sublime defence splitting pass from Gallagher and an exquisite finish from Stead and it was thank you and goodnight!

If this is the kind of link up play that we can expect from these two, the future looks very bright.

Stead continues to impress me every time I see him. On the pitch he has everything a striker needs, great awareness, good touch and movement and a tremendous finishing ability that cannot be taught. Off the field he shines too.

His self-effacing manner and a willingness to improve will stand him in really good ... ahem ... stead. I can hardly wait to see how he fares next season .

Finally, a word about Graeme Souness. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who had doubts about his leadership during our poor run.

Amidst all the panic of the supporters he remained a picture of calm, assuring us that things would change, and how right he's been proved.

He'd be the first to admit that he's made mistakes this season but as he says himself, it's how you learn from them that counts.

I'm quite sure that he will do and he's certainly got me believing totally and utterly again that he is the only man for the job.