WHAT a great comeback that was at Charlton Athletic on Wednesday night. The fighting spirit shown to battle back from the brink when you are supposedly down and out was a joy to see.

But I'm not talking about Blackburn Rovers -- although that was a fine performance -- I'm talking about David Thompson.

Thommo typified everything that was good about Rovers display at The Valley and I was not surprised one bit. Because if any player is going to come back from career threatening injuries, then it is the battling midfielder.

It was great to see him at Arsenal on Saturday and then come on again at Charlton on Wednesday. He marked his road to recovery with a superb goal that ultimately gave us the belief that we could go on and and win.

Thommo is big on belief because while others thought his days as a Premiership player were over, he has never once thrown in the towel.

Remember, this is a player who was on the verge of the England team not so long ago. He knows he can wave farewell to an international career now but that won't worry him one bit.

He's a real battler and there should be more players like him in the game.

Another big plus from the Charlton game was the performance of David Bentley. He is a young player I rate very highly and anyone who has worked under Arsene Wenger must be good.

He played in the 'hole' behind the front two -- not the easiest of positions to play -- and capped off a great game with the winning goal.

Bentley must know his days at Arsenal are numbered and he'll have to move on to get regular first team action. He couldn't go far wrong by making a permanent move to Rovers.

As regard to the Carling Cup itself, well hats off to Mark Hughes for fielding a strong team.

While other managers opt to rotate their teams for the much-maligned competition, Mark knows just how important it is

So long may the other teams field weakened team because Rovers are just three wins away from a place in Europe.