EWOOD legend Kenny Dalglish last night spoke of his great delight in seeing Rovers re-establish themselves as a leading force in the Premiership.

Dalglish was back at Ewood yesterday for Simon Garner's testimonial game and he was quick to praise the job Graeme Souness has done in leading the club back into Europe.

"I'm delighted to see Blackburn back among the top clubs again," said Dalglish, the man who led Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995.

"It was a great season for them winning the Worthington Cup last year but finishing sixth in the league this time is probably an even bigger achievement because they've had to be a lot more consistent.

"It would be nice if they could now have a go on two fronts next season in the Premiership and the UEFA Cup.

"Graeme Souness is certainly doing a magnificent job and it's great to see so many young players doing so well at the club.

"Tugay has also had a great season and some of the players they've got are very exciting so let's hope they can keep that going."

Following a remarkable run of success under Souness, fans have now begun to set their sights on a push for the Champions League next season.

But Dalglish admits the Rovers boss will have his work cut-out in trying to better the achievements of the last 12 months.

"It's asking a heck of a lot to improve another two places once you've got to sixth," said Dalglish.

"Fans shouldn't underestimate what the club have already achieved and they should enjoy that first before putting obstacles in front of themselves and starting to think about the Champions League.

"But they certainly deserve the success they've had this year and Rovers are one of the teams I enjoy watching because they try to play the game in the right way.

"That's a great tribute to the players and a great tribute to the manager."

Meanwhile, Dalglish was glowing in his praise of Garner as a crowd of 13,397 turned out to honour one of Rovers' greatest ever sons.

"The thing I remember Simon for is scoring goals. Unfortunately, before I came to Blackburn he often did it against us when I was at Liverpool.

"But he was a very good goalscorer and it just shows how highly regarded he was in these parts that so many people turned up for his testimonial.

"We didn't get that support when I first took over here but then we didn't deserve that at the time.

"We had to build it up and everybody played their part in doing that."