I'M not normally a big fan of chess!

But Saturday's game against Liverpool felt like a battle between two grand masters and I must admit I found the whole experience quite fascinating.

Okay, perhaps we didn't see the kind of free-flowing attacking football we've come to expect from any game featuring Rovers over the last 18 months.

But, with the benefit of hindsight, I believe Graeme Souness got his tactics spot on against his old club because I fully expect Liverpool to be crowned the Premier League champions come May.

Let's get things into perspective.

Over the last 12 months, Gerard Houllier's men have won a total of five trophies, sweeping aside some of the best teams in Europe along the way -- an achievement not even Manchester United can match!

At the same time, Rovers also prospered, securing promotion back to the Premiership from the cut-throat world of the First Division.

But that achievement pales into insignificance when compared with the feats of the Reds and it's for that reason that Souness -- quite rightly -- gave them so much respect at high-noon on Saturday.

Take a look at the two team sheets if you don't believe me.

While Liverpool boasted a substitutes bench featuring the likes of Emile Heskey, Danny Murphy and Vladimir Smicer, 10 of Rovers' starting 11 all played in the First Division last season, with the exception of Tugay, who, incidentally, was the best player on the park.

So for Rovers to get a point against a squad like that is a fair measure of how far they have progressed under the wing of Souey in the last 18 months.

At the end of the day, it's about points rather than performances.

And the sooner Rovers can accrue enough to guarantee safety, then we can dream about plotting the downfall of clubs like Liverpool with all the swagger we know the likes of Jansen, Dunn and Duff are capable.

On that note, it was good to see Matt back amongst the goals on Saturday with a cooly taken finish to cap a selfless display upfront as a lone-striker.

And anyone still unsure of Dunny as a possible solution to Sven Goran Eriksson's problems should have taken note of the way he lit up the game once he switched from the centre to the flank.