MISSION accomplished! Those were the words etched on the faces of Graeme Souness and his battle-weary troops as they basked in the sun at Goodison Park yesterday.
And who would deny them their moment of smug satisfaction after operation 'Premiership Survival' reached a successful conclusion.
A few nerve ends may be frayed around the edges and the famous Souness 'Barnet' might be a shade greyer than it was 12 months ago, but the maths say it all -- Ewood Park will be staging top-flight football again next season after Rovers achieved exactly what they set out to do back on August 18 last year.
What had threatened to become an undignified fight to the finish ended up being little more than a canter past the winning post and it was somewhat ironic that Andy Cole and the man who ultimately replaced him at Old Trafford were the men responsible.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy's amateur dramatics at Portman Road on Saturday evening meant Rovers were already assured of their place at football's top table next season long before Cole then put the seal on a second successive away win with a typically instinctive header.
In fairness, the game itself was hardly one for the connoisseurs but that didn't matter a jot to Souness who reflected on gaining survival.
"It's been a great 12 months. We're staying up, we've qualified for Europe, we've won a trophy and I also feel we've played some very good football along the way, so I've got to be happy," said the Rovers boss.
"Obviously, after Saturday we knew we were safe, so what bearing that had on the game I don't know.
"Maybe if the pressure was still on, we would have approached it with more fire because I thought the first half was a miserable affair between two teams who didn't want to win it.
"But in the second half, we were a bit more aggressive, we ran around a bit more, had the best of the chances, got the two goals and thoroughly deserved to win it in the end."
It's not been all plain sailing but the bald facts are that Rovers have enjoyed another wonderful season under the shrewd direction of Souness.
When they achieved promotion 12 months ago, consolidation was the watchword and though they have flirted dangerously with relegation at times, they will end up surviving with something to spare -- not to mention the Worthington Cup triumph to boot!
Now they can prepare for Europe safe in the knowledge that their top-flight status is secure.
And in players like Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen, they have the foundations necessary to mount a charge for the top 10 next term.
Jansen, in particular, underlined that fact here with a display which left Rovers' medical staff scratching their heads in disbelief.
For the last month or so, the 24-year-old hot-shot has been so determined to lend his weight to the club's survival bid that he's played through the pain barrier with a double hernia.
Then, when he was laid-low by a stomach bug last week which saw him lose a stone in weight, he somehow summoned up the strength to return against Newcastle.
It was fitting, therefore, that both he and Cole should grab the goals to put the skids under Everton's Intertoto ambitions because their partnership up front is the main reason why Rovers can now breathe easily from a position of mid-table security.
"We've just decided that Matt's never going to have that operation," joked Souness.
"He's going to play the rest of his career with this double hernia because since it was discovered he's been playing out of his skin.
"So there's no operation for him on the horizon.
"We had maybe three or four people who did run around in the first half and he ran around more than anyone else."
It's a crying shame that Rovers' 15-goal top-scorer will not get the chance to showcase his talents at the World Cup this summer because his contribution since Cole's arrival has been nothing short of immense.
But Souness remains philosophical and insists it's only a matter of time before he gets his chance after missing out on the opportunity of an international debut against Paraguay two weeks ago.
"I'm sure he'll look at it as one of those things," said Souness.
"Whether it was a case of Sven just wanting to have a look at him as he did with several people, and I'm thinking of Ricketts in particular when I say that, I don't know.
"But Matt would have had to have done very well against Paraguay to have got himself onto that plane.
"Time's on his side, though, because he's only a young player."
With both sides already assured of their top-flight status before kick-off, there was a distinct lack of edge in a dour first half.
But Jansen at least was alert to the situation and gave the visiting fans something to cheer when he jumped to head home David Dunn's right-wing centre in the 10th minute after Blues keeper Paul Gerrard was caught napping.
Neither side created much in terms of clear-cut goalscoring chances after that.
David Unsworth fired wildly off target and a David Weir volley bounced over the bar as Everton offered precious little as an attacking force.
Brad Friedel -- a virtual spectator for most of the afternoon -- made his first meaningful save of the day from Scott Gemmill in the 37th minute.
In contrast, the Toffees were busier at the back and central defender Alan Stubbs was lucky to escape with a booking midway through the half when he dragged Jansen down on the edge of the box as he homed in on goal.
In the second half, Nick Chadwick finally pulled one back for the home side with a cheeky back-heel from a Weir knock down in the 50th minute.
But Cole then pinched a winner for Rovers in the 63rd minute when he reacted quickly to head home from three yards after Gerrard had a spilled a shot from Damien Duff.
The visitors had chances to gild the lily in the closing stages.
Dunn rattled the bar with a curling 20 yarder and an attempted lob from Cole sailed inches over the bar.
But it hardly mattered -- by then Rovers were well and truly home and hosed.
EVERTON 1
Scorer: Chadwick 50
ROVERS 2
Scorers: Jansen 10, Cole 63
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