GRAEME Souness has made no secret of the fact that performances in the Premiership, not Europe, will keep him in a manager's job.

And when Fulham arrive at Ewood on Sunday, he will see a living and breathing example of how this theory can prove to be true.

Souness feels that the strains of cup football and subsequent poor performances in the league ultimately cost Jean Tigana his job and gave Chris Coleman his first taste of managerial life at Loftus road.

The former Blackburn Rovers centre half brings his side to Ewood Park as Rovers prepare for a welcome return to league action following Wednesday's humbling in Europe.

And Souness thinks the Londoners provide the perfect example as to why Premiership points remain his highest priority.

"Fulham had a very good squad this time last year but they got caught up in qualifying for Europe and had an FA Cup run," said the Rovers boss.

"They played 15 or 16 cup ties but had a miserable time in the league and that cup success is why I think Jean Tigana is no longer their boss.

"Like us, they didn't really have the numbers to focus on the cup competitions which is why the Premier League, not the UEFA Cup, is my priority."

Coleman took over as caretaker boss from Tigana towards the end of last season, keeping them in the Premiership before landing the job permanently in the summer.

A car accident brought a premature end to his playing career, which included a brief spell at Ewood in the mid-1990s, but Souness has been impressed by the 33-year-old's seamless shift into management.

He said: "I can only talk about Chris as a person, I haven't worked with him in football.

"But he's nice guy and he's done very well in the short time he's been a manager.

"The will be stiff opposition tomorrow. They have made a good start and have a new manager who knows all about Blackburn Rovers.

"We have to make sure we defend as well as we did against Portsmouth and we have people in the team who can cause Fulham problems.

"These are the games we feel we can get points from but talking about it is the easy part, we have to go out there and do it."