FORMER Blackburn favourite David Dunn has revealed how a quick pep-talk from Graeme Souness helped to ease the pain following Rovers' 4-0 thumping of Birmingham last month.

Souness went into the Birmingham dressing room to offer Dunn a few words of comfort following Rovers' emphatic victory at St Andrews.

And as the pair prepare to cross swords again in the FA Cup tomorrow, the Blues midfielder believes they have now successfully buried the hatchet after their public fall-out last season.

"After we lost 4-0 to Rovers, no one gloated. A lot of my friends and family came down for the game and they could see how disappointed I was about the result," said Dunn.

"A few of them offered words of encouragement and Graeme made a point of coming up to me in the dressing room afterwards and said 'Keep your head up'.

"He didn't need to do it but I appreciated that. It was a nice touch."

Dunn is relishing the chance to gain revenge for that defeat when the two sides meet again tomorrow.

The 24-year-old was way below par as Rovers romped to an impressive victory.

And the England midfielder feels he paid the price for being too psyched-up for the occasion.

"Having been at Blackburn for so long, it was strange to play them," added Dunn.

"Maybe I tried too hard. Playing with so much adrenalin and being desperate to put in a good performance can drain you -- and I think that's what happened.

"The day after that match we watched a video of the game and it confirmed what I had thought at the final whistle -- for the first hour we were the better team.

"Then they scored and the goals kept on coming.

"The next day I was sitting at home when I started to get loads of text messages saying 'I can't believe we've got you in the cup'.

"This gives us a quick opportunity to get some pride back. I'm hoping this time things will be different."