Tommo has the answer

But, by the time he vacated his seat in the director's box 10 minutes before Rovers wrapped up their first home win of the season, he may just have left with the answer to a problem which has been perplexing him for the entire duration of his England reign.

Eriksson has travelled the length and breadth of the country in his quest to unearth a player capable of operating on the left hand side of midfield.

And in the new darling of the Blackburn End, he may just have found the solution.

Graeme Souness has worked with David Thompson for barely a fortnight but already the Blackburn boss has seen enough to feel it necessary to launch a campaign to get the former Liverpool man his first senior England cap.

And, based on this evidence, it's easy to see exactly where Souey is coming from after his pint-sized genius completely upstaged a number of the candidates currently ahead of him in the pecking order.

Lee Bowyer, who was handed his international debut in the recent friendly with Portugal, was made to look distinctly second rate in comparison to Thompson as Rovers tore Leeds' midfield to shreds for the first 70 minutes of this contest.

And if I was Eriksson and it came down to a straight choice between 'Tommo', Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair or the powder-puff Nick Barmby then I know who I'd prefer alongside me in the trenches in deepest, darkest Slovakia.

Garry Flitcroft's first Premiership goal since last October may have proved the difference between the two sides but it was Thompson's performance which had everyone purring with satisfaction.

With Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke missing through injury, Souness turned to his midfielders as the men to carry the fight to a side who had disposed of Manchester United eight days previously.

And no-one did more for the cause than Thompson whose exciting blend of talent and tenacity is fast turning him into a huge crowd favourite.

On three separate occasions he singed the finger tips of Paul Robinson with shots from distance as he unleashed his sledge-hammer of a right foot.

But it's not so much his ability on the ball which has endeared him to his manager and the fans alike, it's the fact he possesses the heart of a lion - a quality which seems to be infectious.

"He's a proper little scouser," observed Souness, who knows more than anyone exactly what that means after serving Liverpool with such distinction.

"He's spikey, he's easily upset, and a joy to work with every day because he always has plenty to say.

"I've worked with him for two and a half weeks now and he should be playing for the England national team.

"He can punch his weight, he sees the bigger picture, he's a great free kick taker and he should be playing for England by now.

"But I'm a Scotsman. It's not my job to pick the England team."

The odds were stacked against Rovers going into the game.

Robbed of Cole and Yorke, not to mention the club's most creative force in Damien Duff, Souness decided to pack the midfield and go with Egil Ostenstad up front, who was handed a shock Premiership start for the first time in almost a year.

And it turned out to be a managerial masterstroke as Leeds were totally overpowered and over-run in midfield where the dynamic Davids - Messrs

Thompson and Dunn - had a field-day for the best part of 70 minutes.

Their energy and invention proved too much for the likes of Oliver Dacourt, so much so that Terry Venables was forced into a triple substitution in a desperate attempt to get a foothold back in the game.

Those changes did have a revitalising effect as United belatedly came to life in the last half hour but they then blew the chance to salvage a point when Alan Smith saw his tame penalty expertly saved by the impeccable Brad Friedel.

Earlier in the day, Thompson and Craig Short had to pass fitness tests before they could be included in the starting line-up while Flitcroft had also been an injury doubt after suffering a dead-leg in training the previous morning.

Thankfully, though, all three came through to play a big part in securing what was only Rovers' second win of the season.

With Ostenstad asked to plough a lone furrow up front - a task he performed admirably considering it was his third appearance in six days - the emphasis was on the five in midfield to take it in turns to bomb forward.

And that's precisely how the all-important goal came about in the 24th minute.

Martin Taylor played a ball down the right which appeared to be running out of play but Keith Gillespie had other ideas, promptly shrugging off Ian Harte on the byline before cutting in and picking out Flitcroft, who side-footed a shot past Robinson from 10 yards via the aid of a slight deflection off Jonathan Woodgate.

That was the least Rovers deserved for an enterprising first half display in which Thompson and Dunn were always prominent.

With barely nine minutes gone, Ostenstad had just failed to connect with a Gillespie cross after a Dunn pass had dissected the Leeds defence.

Then Robinson had to be alert to palm away a Thompson strike after a typically penetrative run by the lively midfielder.

All Leeds had to offer was a free kick from Harte which whistled wide of the post.

After the break, Robinson underlined his England credentials with two stunning saves to deny Thompson from distance, either side of a good chance for the ineffective Barmby.

But the visitors were then presented with a lifeline in the 66th minute when Henning Berg was adjudged to have handled in the box and referee Graham Poll pointed straight to the spot.

Ewood held its breath as Smith plonked the ball down and paced out his run-up but his resulting kick lacked conviction and Friedel dived to his left to gratefully gather his tame effort, sparking wild celebrations.

In a rousing finale, Leeds pressed forward in a desperate search for an equaliser and it nearly arrived when Smith's header looked destined for the bottom corner but Friedel somehow palmed it to safety.

At last, the Gods appeared to be smiling on Rovers.

ROVERS 1 LEEDS UNITED 0

Flitcroft 24