WHEN Blackburn Rovers finally secure their place in the Premiership for a further 12 months, they'll owe a huge debt of gratitude to the United States international Brian McBride.

Back in January, Graeme Souness tried to lure McBride to Ewood in a £600,000 deal after spending the best part of two months chasing his signature.

But, as Rovers got sucked into a relegation battle, negotiations then broke down and the American suddenly did an about-turn and signed for Fulham instead.

At the time, it felt like a major blow in Rovers' fight to stay up as Souness hardly had his pick of viable alternatives given the limited resources at his disposal.

But McBride's decision to renege on a move to Blackburn effectively left Souness with no option other than to take a punt on a player from the lower leagues.

That man was, of course, Huddersfield striker Jonathan Stead and the rest is history.

Five goals in 10 games have transformed Rovers' season and without Stead's input, the club would surely have been heading towards the Nationwide League by now.

So far, Souness has refrained from calling him his best ever pound for pound signing but the reality is a 21-year-old who cost just £1 million looks like saving his new club at least 20 times that -- the amount Rovers would lose if they did crash out of the top flight.

However, let's not forget the contributions of Souness's other January signings as well.

Michael Gray has brought some much-needed stability to the problematic left-back position since his arrival on a free from Sunderland.

His ability to get forward down the left has also helped to disguise the lack of a genuine left-sided midfield player.

And Martin Andresen has also played his own small but significant part in the club's recent revival.

The Norwegian international might not have caught the eye to the same extent as Stead and Gray have but he's still plugged a hole in midfield in the absence of the injured Barry Ferguson and David Thompson.

So one more point should see Rovers safe, then the whole transfer process will begin again. And Souness may well have to pull one or two more rabbits out of his hat.