CUP winner Andy Cole insists his club record move to Rovers will only be a success if he scores the goals to keep Graeme Souness' side in the FA Barclaycard Premiership.

Cole will not rest on his laurels despite the personal satisfaction of putting one over Glenn Hoddle and Teddy Sheringham in inspiring Blackburn to their first major cup success in 74 years in the Worthington Cup final.

The former Manchester United striker notched the winner - his fifth goal of the season - in the Cardiff showdown with Tottenham.

But the club realise their progress in qualifying for Europe will be undone if, like Norwich in 1985, they still get relegated after winning the League Cup.

So even though they are third from bottom, Cole has set Rovers' sights on five more wins to ensure survival - starting against Bolton on Saturday.

Asked whether a Worthington Cup winner's medal had justified his move, Cole responded: "Ask me the same question at the end of the season and hopefully I can say yes, we have stayed up and that's what it's all about.

"If we don't stay up, I'll be very disappointed.

"A cup final and European football next season are a bonus but it's all about staying in the Premiership. That's every club's goal and we're no different.

"I could have stayed at United and played every now and then. But being the person I am, I didn't want to stay in the comfort zone as I wanted to push myself.

"Everyone was surprised when I came here, talking about the possibility of Blackburn getting relegated. But it's about helping the team to avoid relegation and then moving on from there."

Cole insists the 2-1 win against Tottenham could kick-start Rovers' season into life after flattering to deceive over recent weeks.

"I don't think we're struggling. We've played some good football and conceded some bad goals, but results haven't gone our way," he said.

"Hopefully this will steady the ship now and we can get some more victories in the Premiership. We haven't created as many chances as that in the past three games.

"Hopefully winning the cup will kick-start us and playing the way we did - creating chances and scoring goals.

"If we can take that into the game at Bolton hopefully it will create a snowball effect, we will start winning league games and we will be all right."

The cup success has enable Cole to complete a hat-trick of domestic honours.

Cynics may have felt that winning the Worthington Cup would not compare to winning trebles with United but Nottingham-born Cole added: "I'm delighted with it. When I retire I can look back at the complete set of medals - and that's not bad for a kid who can't play.

"I'm really pleased for Blackburn, fans and players because they deserve this.

"They've worked hard to get to the final - I've jumped on the bandwagon by coming in at the semi-final stage so really I'm more pleased for them."

Then there is the hardly inconsequential matter of Cole attempting to win his place in England's World Cup squad.

He missed out last time around, of course, following Hoddle's infamous observation that Cole needed four or five chances to find the back of the net.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has no such worries about the striker, but there are still the emerging talents of Darius Vassell and Alan Smith to compete against for what is probably the final forward spot in the squad.

It is experience against youth therefore with only a handful of chances left.

But even if Sheringham hardly sparkled in Cardiff, Cole is too experienced to publicly look any further forward than impressing for his club.

"That game's nothing to do with the World Cup. It was about Blackburn and their supporters. Not about Andrew Cole trying to get into the England squad," he insisted.

Blackburn's survival and 30-year-old Cole's World Cup call-up could nevertheless go hand in hand.

So Souness is hoping, in any case.

"Signing Andy has pushed us to winning this trophy. Now we have to start winning more games in the league to push us up the table," he declared.

"We bought Andy to score the goals that would make the difference for us and I still believe that will be the case.

"He has got to go to the World Cup as he is proven quality. Just ask the Tottenham defenders if he should go to the World Cup."

Hoddle may once have criticised Cole's England credentials but, then again, he was hardly too complimentary about David Beckham's free-kick expertise on the training pitch at France '98 either.