GRAEME Souness today underlined his determination to hang on to Damien Duff after the Republic of Ireland star produced another match-winning performance at the weekend.

Duff was magnificent in Saturday's 1-0 win over Charlton where he capped a dazzling display with his fifth goal in as many games.

That result saw Rovers open up a five-point gap between them and the chasing pack in the battle to finish in the top six.

And Duff's performance can't have failed to go unnoticed by the top brass at Liverpool and Manchester United, who continue to be linked with a big money move for the Rovers wing-ace in the summer.

However, Souness is Hell-bent on hanging onto his star man and he has delivered a defiant message to any possible suitors by insisting it's going to take 'a very special offer' to prise him away from Ewood Park.

"I do not want to work without Damien," said the Rovers boss.

"As far as I'm concerned it's vital that he stays.

"He is a fantastic player and a fantastic lad and I want to see him here for a long time.

"It would take a very special offer to make me change my mind.

"We have got where we are this season without him for the majority of the time. But he can be the difference in games like he was against Charlton.

"There have been games we have lost or drawn where we might have had more points with him in the side."

Duff has certainly bounced back with a vengeance since returning from a hamstring injury.

He has found the net in each of Rovers' last four games, as well as scoring for the Republic in their recent victory over Georgia, to make it five goals in his last five appearances.

So he could hardly be heading for Old Trafford on Saturday in better form as Rovers go in search of another famous league double.

Duff's team-mate, Henning Berg, believes Rovers are more than equipped to pull off another title shock having taken 18 points out of a possible 21.

"Duffer can cause any defence problems -- even Manchester United's," said the Norwegian.

"We've beaten Arsenal twice and United once, so we'll be confident going to United, no matter how well they are playing."

Meanwhile, Souness was delighted with Saturday's win -- Rovers sixth in their last seven outings -- even though it was hardly a vintage team performance.

"I was delighted with the three points," said Souness.

"We knew that was always going to be a difficult game. They got walloped last week and it's never good to play a team that's just been walloped.

"So they were determined not to get beat so they came with the attitude 'Let's stop them and see what happens.'

"But we had several chances to make it 2-0 which would have made it a very different game of football altogether."

Rovers have announced details of two pre-season friendlies as part of their preparations for next season.

On Saturday August 2 Graeme Souness's side are set to play Wigan at the JJB Stadium in a repeat of the Worthington Cup clash between the two teams earlier in the season.

Then four days later, Rovers will travel to Dublin where they'll take on Bray Wanderers on Wednesday August 6.