SEVEN days is a long time in football -- just ask Blackburn boss Graeme Souness!

This time last week, Rovers dragged themselves out of the bottom three for the first time since February 9 after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ipswich.

However, by yesterday morning all that good work looked in grave danger of being undone following a damaging double-whammy.

Sunday's tame surrender against Leeds at Elland Road was disappointing enough, especially given Rovers' recent revival since Cardiff.

But even that result has been overshadowed by the stories surrounding the future of club-record signing Andy Cole.

Cole, hailed as a Messiah when he arrived from Manchester United, has already hit the headlines on plenty of occasions during his short time at Ewood.

It was his goal at the Millennium Stadium which secured Rovers' first major knockout trophy in 74 years last month.

Then came the Mike Whitlow stamping incident when Cole saw red during a stormy Lancashire derby between Rovers and Bolton at the Reebok.

And now the tabloids are suggesting the 30-year-old is ready to walk out on Rovers and sign for Fulham in the summer amid reports of training ground bust-ups.

Souness, Cole's agent Paul Stretford, and the Rovers board all vehemently deny those claims.

But whether the stories contain any semblance of truth or not doesn't matter -- the mere fact they are in circulation in the first place can only serve to damage the club's survival hopes.

From what I've seen of Cole so far, there's no doubt he's looked frustrated at times since his move to Rovers.

But it's one thing being frustrated and another thing wanting to turn your back on the club altogether.

Let's not kid ourselves, joining anyone after seven trophy-laden seasons with Manchester United was always going to be a step down -- whoever it was.

But would joining Fulham in the summer necessarily see Cole any better off than he is now? I, for one, think not.

Had Rovers won at Elland Road on Sunday they would have gone above the Cottagers in the Premier League table.

And thanks to Cole's goal in Cardiff, Rovers can also offer the 30-year-old striker European football next season -- something Fulham have yet to secure.

Also contrary to popular belief, he's not a Londoner desperate for a return to his roots, either, because he was actually born in Nottingham!

From my own dealings with Cole, he comes across as a private person who's clearly at his happiest in his own company.

Sometimes that gets misconstrued by fans as being moody.

But I think it's a self-defence mechanism, as much as anything, after having his fingers burnt once too many by certain sections of the media.

I recently went down to Brockhall to conduct an interview and I could hear someone happily singing away to himself in a neighbouring corridor.

The next thing I knew Andy Cole popped his head around the corner smiling sheepishly -- hardly the actions of a man who can't stand the sight of the place.