ROY HODGSON has rightly urged everyone to remain calm despite the encouraging start to the season.

There is reason for optimism and I am sure he is quietly delighted by the manner in which the wins have been achieved, especially against Aston Villa.

There was a predictable knee-jerk reaction to Henning Berg's transfer, but I doubt many Rovers supporters had thought of a decline in fortunes as they travelled up the M6 last Wednesday.

The short, sharp shock of the sale, aided by the team's performance against one of the Premiership favourites, endorses the dignified manner in which the Norwegian handled the move. Despite going to you-know-who, his conscious effort to avoid rocking the boat and continued commitment last year ought to at least spare him the hostile reception I sincerely hope Mr Le Saux receives when he returns in November.

They have both gone and the club is £10 million better off for it. This does not automatically mean it has to be spent as Peter White suggested last Tuesday, "on a couple of mega signings." He was at Villa Park (getting a little excited I believe) and I would challenge him to name any player who did not fully justify his place in the team. Quality players are unlikely to be available at the start of the season anyhow - both the deals for Le Saux and Berg had been on-going for some time - so who would we buy?

Hodgson's reluctance to splash the cash before assessing the players in competitive action is a sure sign he is doing the job in the correct manner, relying on a policy of evolution rather than revolution. Patience is essential from everybody. The value of a player is not determined by the number of noughts on the end of his fee, but by how he fits into the team.

We can all bemoan what has happened over the last two years, but then hindsight can make anyone seem an expert. What's done is done, the future begins on Saturday and there are signs that it could be bright (although I wish the new away strip wasn't orange)!

S ELLISON, Brook Street, Wheelton.

Previous sport story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.