JET-HEELED winger Damien Duff today paid a glowing tribute to manager Graeme Souness after the Rovers boss has transformed the young Irishman into one of the hottest properties in the Premiership.

Souness celebrated his second anniversary at the Ewood helm this week and no-one has benefited more from the Scot's tutelage over the last two years than the Republic of Ireland international.

His stunning goal which helped to sink Ipswich Town on Wednesday was a shining example of the new-found belief Souness has instilled in him during his 24 months in charge.

And Duff has underlined his gratitude by hailing the overall job the manager has done as nothing short of sensational since he succeeded Brian Kidd.

"Graeme has worked wonders since he arrived at the club," said Duff.

"When he first came here I think we were below half way in the First Division so what he's done since then speaks for itself -- he's been sensational.

"We'll be playing in Europe next season and, please God, come the summer we'll also be in the Premier League again next season.

"And that would be a fantastic achievement in our first year back."

During Kidd's disastrous reign, Duff's confidence had plummeted to new depths as he struggled to pin down a regular starting place.

But from the moment Souness first walked through the doors at Ewood, he quickly identified the winger as a potential cornerstone of his team.

And his subsequent performances over the last 18 months have now seen him established as one of the brightest left-sided players in the top-flight.

"The manager has done wonders for me, personally. He's always on at me about my game and trying to get me to improve. So he's always on my back which helps to keep you on your toes.

"Since he's been here I've lost a lot of weight because there's a dietician at the club now so I work hard with him. And the gaffer just says 'once you get in the last third of the pitch, you can do what you want' which is what I go out and do -- try to create things and, thankfully, it seems to be paying off at the moment."

Confidence is now sky-high in the Rovers camp after Wednesday night's result saw them climb out of the bottom three for the first time since February 9.

And Duff is eager to build on that on Sunday by picking up more valuable away points at Leeds which could catapult Rovers towards mid-table security.

"We're now up to 15th in the league and, please God, if we win on Sunday we could go into the top 10," said the Irishman.

"So it's amazing what a couple of wins can do so, hopefully, we can string a couple more together over the next few weeks.

"As I said last week, the Worthington Cup win has given everyone a buzz and we've just carried that on from there, really."