AMIDST all the hoo-ha surrounding our game against Liverpool on Saturday, one important fact seemed to get lost -- Matt Jansen scored his first goal at Ewood in over a year.

And what a breathtaking strike it was, too.

If Manchester United's Ronaldo had scored that, or Adrian Mutu of Chelsea, you can bet Des Lynam and his team would still be salivating about it now.

But because it's Rovers and a storm has whipped up surrounding Lucas Neill it seems to have been completely glossed over, which is a crying shame for Matt considering all that he's been through.

It's easy to forget just how serious Matt's injury was but the great thing for us is he's now showing clear signs of getting back to where he was before the accident.

I'm sure most fans would agree that he's got better and better with every game this season but the most encouraging thing is he's also looking sharper now in training, too.

Obviously, it's still going to take time to rediscover the kind of form which took him into the England squad.

But the crucial thing is his confidence is returning and that's not just evident in his performances on the pitch, it's clear from the way he's acting off it as well.

When I first joined Rovers last season, he was really quiet and withdrawn but he's started to open up a bit more and he's joining in with the banter, too, which is a clear sign that he's feeling better within himself.

He still forgets which team he's on in training from time to time but, seriously, he's a great lad and it's brilliant to see the smile back on his face again.

Last Saturday's goal will have given him a huge boost so expect to see him flying now.

As for the game itself, I was absolutely gutted by the result. We got off to a great start thanks to Matt but then gave away an absolutely ridiculous penalty and had a man sent off.

After that, it was backs against the wall and Liverpool are the last team you want to be facing with 10 men.

I thought we did alright in the first half but then in the second they started to open us up a bit more and they had a load of chances in the end.

As for the sending off, I was over on the other side of the pitch so I didn't really get a proper view of it at the time.

But I've since seen it again on TV and I've got to say the ref got both decisions spot on.

Lucas was absolutely devastated by it. He didn't realise he'd broken Jamie's leg and he's been very quiet in training ever since.

I think he's been affected by Gerard Houllier calling him a coward.

His public apology came straight from the heart on Monday but that still doesn't seem to have satisfied certain people.

And as for Gerard's comments about me deliberately trying to 'do' John Arne Riise, I've got to say that's nonsense.

I know the incident he's talking about. I went to close Riise down and just tried to put a block in as he hit the ball down the line.

But I didn't catch him and I didn't try to.

Maybe Gerard's trying to justify himself for leaping off the bench.

Anyway, back to the game and the sending off was definitely the turning point. I would have fancied us with 10 men but losing a man and conceding the penalty kills you.

We can't afford to let it get us down, though.

Our start to the season could have been slightly better but we haven't done too badly and we've just got to show that we can bounce back now -- starting at Portsmouth on Saturday.