SO that was the season that was!

Three weeks ago it was almost impossible to imagine we'd be able to stage a party at Ewood on the final day of the season as we scrapped for our Premiership lives.

However, a couple of good results later and the pressure we've been under since the end of February suddenly evaporated almost as quickly as it had arrived -- allowing us the chance to finally celebrate our fantastic achievement in Cardiff.

And what a memorable nine months it has turned out to be, even if we've left you with a few shredded nerves along the way.

Back in August when we kicked off the campaign against Derby at Pride Park I think most people would have settled for survival at the end of our first season back in the top-flight.

So to finish 10th, win a Cup and qualify for Europe means we have surpassed everyone's expectations -- although I still think we could have done even better!

If you think of all the points we've thrown away against sides like Leicester, Sunderland and Derby, we wouldn't have found ourselves in trouble in the first place if we'd done our jobs against them.

We have to learn from those mistakes if we want to move onto the next stage next season because consistency is they key to success in the Premiership.

On the plus side, the likes of Duffer and Matt Jansen have underlined their Premiership class this term with some breathtaking displays.

Duffer in particular has been on fire since Christmas and he richly deserved all the player of the season awards he has collected in the last couple of weeks.

I'm convinced he'll take the World Cup by storm with the Republic next month and it doesn't surprise me at all to read that clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool are being linked with him.

Thankfully, though, he seems settled at Ewood and it was great to hear him pledge his future to the club last week.

If we are to move forward as a club then it's vital people like him stay around because I firmly believe there's no-one better than him in his position when he's on top form.