ROY Hodgson saluted his double-chasing heroes at Hillsborough last night as they romped into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in just one word: "Fantastic!"

With a tough trip to West Ham lying in wait in the next round, the Blackburn Rovers boss is taking nothing for granted. But he rightly took great satisfaction from last night's performance, marred only by a knee injury to Stuart Ripley.

Rovers, who hope to know the extent of the damage in the next couple of days, will be concerned about the injury.

It could not detract, however, from a stunning result.

And, while the manager tempers any praise with caution, there is no doubt that they have established themselves as genuine contenders on two fronts.

There are few bigger challenges than the next one at Anfield on Saturday when Rovers return to Premiership action against Liverpool.

But, for the moment, Rovers can savour their first appearance in the last 16 of the FA Cup for five years and Hodgson said: "It's a marvellous victory.

"To win 3-0 away from home is fantastic anywhere. To do it at a place like Sheffield Wednesday, who have been playing very well, is even more encouraging.

"The draw has not been kind to us. We had an away tie this round and we've an away tie next round.

"But we've got to get on with it and make the most of it.

"Had we been drawn at home against a lower division club then I would be looking farther ahead. As it is we are going to West Ham.

"But if we can eliminate them as we eliminated Sheffield Wednesday then maybe we will start to believe in our chances.

"I am just happy to be going to West Ham in the next round and I am happy to be going to Liverpool in the Premiership this Saturday still with our noses very slightly in front of them. "We've 15 games left and a lot of points at stake. If the team is capable of repeating the performances against Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday over the remaining games, then we've got to believe we will be close at the end."

Ripley has suspected cartilage trouble after being examined by Alan Smith.

He will have the injury scanned as soon as it has settled down and Hodgson said: "It sounds bad but it might not be as bad as it seems. It might just be a partial problem. We hope so anyway."

The manager paid tribute to several players,including Stephane Henchoz and strike pair Chris Sutton and Kevin Gallacher.

And he was pleased to see Tim Flowers back at his best after a spell when the keeper has had so little to do.

On teenager Damien Duff, scorer of a cracking third, Hodgson added: "He's a precocious talent. He is developing into a very good player.

"He's in the bread and butter stage of his career. It will get harder for him and I was pleased to see him digging in as he did."

Wednesday boss Ron Atkinson, who has steered the Owls away from relegation trouble since taking over, was generous in his assessment of Rovers.

"They still have a lot of players from the championship side and know about winning matches," he said. "They have an excellent chance of winning something again this year.

"Basically, Blackburn are the worst side in the country to give a start to because they are very good at defending a lead."

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