MATT Derbyshire has a long way to go before he can dream of emulating the career of his esteemed manager, Mark Hughes, but the pair already have one thing in common - a love affair with the FA Cup.

After winning the famous trophy four times as a player, now Hughes has designs on lifting it as a manager.

And as long as Derbyshire keeps banging the goals in at his present rate then a trip to the new Wembley with Blackburn later this year may not be as fanciful as some sceptics would have you believe.

One of the FA Cup's most intoxicating qualities is its ability to throw up fairytales, and that is exactly what is unfolding at Blackburn, where Derbyshire has made the incredible transition from Football in the Community coach to first team predator.

A week that began with the 20-year-old signing a lucrative new deal with Rovers, which ties him to the club until the summer of 2010, ended with him plundering two more fine goals in front of the Match of the Day cameras.

Hughes' young tyro has now scored five times in his last six appearances, and three of those have come in the Cup - his brace here adding to the poacher's goal he bagged at Everton in the previous round.

That's a remarkable feat for a player whose only previous FA Cup experience before this season amounted to a handful of appearances for Great Harwood in the competition's preliminary rounds.

But natural born predators like Derbyshire possess that happy knack of scoring goals at whatever level they play at, and now he's found his feet in the first team, they are starting to fly in from all angles, much to the obvious delight of his manager.

Before Saturday, Derbyshire's previous three goals for the first team had all been side-foot efforts from inside the six-yard box - the staple diet, you might say, of all good strikers.

It was particularly satisfying then to see him add to his increasing repertoire with two more assured finishes in the mud at Kenilworth Road, watched by two striking legends from Rovers' past.

His first goal, in the 10th minute, was rather reminiscent of a young Hughes in his pomp.

Played in by Benni McCarthy, Derbyshire brilliantly shrugged off his marker before unleashing a right-foot shot from just inside the area that fairly rocketed past Marlon Beresford on its way into the far corner.

The second, on 56 minutes, would have drawn appreciation from Mike Newell, the former Ewood favourite and current Luton manager.

Brett Emerton clipped a delightful cross into the centre, and Derbyshire soared majestically above his marker to guide a firm header inside Beresford's left-hand post.

Two goals, two impressive finishes, and, ultimately, too good for Luton on the day, Derbyshire is starting to give Hughes the kind of selection headache all managers crave.

"Matt's having a great time at the moment and we're delighted we've got him signed again," enthused the Rovers boss, whose striking options are about to be bolstered by the return of Jason Roberts and Franny Jeffers.

"He's making a real statement and that's making it difficult for me to see which combination is the best one for us.

"All he can do is play well and keep scoring goals, then it's up to me to make decisions."

Derbyshire's double salvo rightly dominated the headlines, but there was plenty more for Hughes to admire about this Blackburn performance.

The BBC cameras had descended on a dilapidated Kenilworth Road in anticipation of another famous FA Cup giantkilling, but instead they saw the most one-sided tie of round four as Rovers flexed their Premiership muscle to devastating effect, completely overpowering a limited Luton side.

From the moment Derbyshire fired his team ahead, the outcome of this match was never in any doubt as Rovers performed like consummate professionals.

"I was a little bit surprised we were the televised game," admitted Hughes afterwards.

"Usually the game early on is picked because people anticipate there's going to be an upset, but there was never any danger of that happening here."

Aside from the four goals, which were all brilliant in their own way, Hughes could also take great satisfaction from the debut performances of Stephen Warnock and Chris Samba, and the return of his defensive colossus Ryan Nelsen.

Warnock, in particular, was outstanding at left-back, immediately striking up an impressive rapport with Morten Gamst Pedersen, the scorer of a stunning fourth goal.

His eagerness to bomb forward at every opportunity was a feature of this game, and one electric 60-yard run culminated in McCarthy bagging his 15th goal of an increasingly productive campaign.

Alongside Warnock at the back, Nelsen was a rock.

The New Zealand international has clearly lost none of his steely resolve in the nine months since he last pulled on a Rovers shirt.

A defender in the truest sense of the word, Nelsen possesses a lionheart quality that money just can't buy, and within half an hour of his comeback his head was swathed in bandages, Terry Butcher style, an outward demonstration of his willingness to put his body selflessly on the line for the cause.

Luton's hopes of a giantkilling hinged on them scoring first, but instead it was Rovers who drew first blood, Derbyshire firing a wonderful effort past Beresford in the 10th minute.

Midfielder David Bell then blasted over for Luton, and Drew Talbot was off target with a header, before Rovers effectively put the tie beyond reach in the 36th minute.

Receiving a throw from Brad Friedel deep in his own half, Warnock then ran the length of the pitch before finding Pedersen, whose cross to the far post was bravely headed back by Derbyshire, leaving McCarthy with a simple tap in.

Derbyshire then made it 3-0 with a cute header from Emerton's cross in the 56th minute.

But the best was still to come as Pedersen grabbed the fourth with a sumptuous volley that snaked past Beresford and into the bottom far corner.

So Rovers have now scored eight goals in two away ties in the FA Cup this season.

In this mood, it's going to take a good team to stop them.