April the First. Ewood Park. Half bathed in the spring sunshine. Half cast in a shadow that deepened as the afternoon grew brighter. No prizes for guessing which was the visitors' end!

Stan Ternent got it right. His pre-match eulogy of the Rovers players proved unerringly accurate.

It took time, all the first half really, but once Rovers began to motor they left their opponents breathless in the slipstream.

Hats off to Stan for admitting as much after the game.

But hats off too to Mr Souness and his team for making April 1st a great day to be a Rovers fan.

After this weekend's events, it's looking like it could be a great season as well.

We won the game through the middle.

There were other players who shone yesterday, others who grabbed the headlines, but it was almost a throwback to the heady days of '95 when Hendry, Sherwood and Shearer were the blue and white heart of a confident, irresistible Rovers.

'The team that Jack built'.

The core of the team that Graeme built is Berg, Flitcroft and Bent.

Berg we've known about for ages.

Dependable, incisive, always getting in that vital, last-minute challenge, as in the first half yesterday.

How we missed him during his extended visit to Manchester. How good it is to have him back!

Garry Flitcroft hasn't always been a fans' favourite, myself included.

But he totally dominated midfield in the Ewood sunshine, perhaps the best game I've seen him play for Rovers.

Flitty was the conductor, allowing Dunn, Jansen and others to play the solo pieces that had the crowd buzzing.

On three sides of the ground, anyway.

Bent is proving a superb signing.

He's not the finished article (nor was Shearer when he arrived) but he was a major headache to Mitchell Thomas and Steve Davis from start to finish.

Both have probably had more enjoyable migraines!

His pace, persistence and skill put the vital third on a plate for Jansen and got the celebrations into full swing.

Let's hope he'll do the same to his old club on Wednesday.

But Souness is no fool in reminding us all that we're not there yet.

Take any one of Berg, Flitcroft and Bent out of that team (heaven forbid we should lose all three) and Rovers are not the same force.

It's a sobering thought.

But hey, it was a great party!