I AM ashamed to admit that, being an ‘old romantic’, I missed Saturday’s game because I had agreed to take the missus out to watch Fifty Shades of Grey on Valentine’s Day.

To be honest, I wasn’t too bothered about missing a match against Stoke, hardly an appetising affair that gets the pulses raising usually.

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So imagine my surprise when, on leaving the cinema, I discovered Rovers had dished out a good spanking of their own – and probably one that would be much more pleasing on the eye, for me at least.

And further astonishment came when I discovered it was a rout masterminded by Josh King.

King has always been one of those frustrating players who clearly possesses the raw talent but all too often fails to bring all the required aspects of his game together on matchday.

He has blistering pace and can terrify full backs, but the end product is usually lacking when it comes to passing or shooting.

But on those occasions when he does manage to bring everything together (I seem to remember him being instrumental in a 3-1 win at Bournemouth last season) he can be a very dangerous weapon for us.

Playing him up front seemed to work on Saturday and, once again, Gary Bowyer’s tactics were right on as we tore apart a full strength Premier League side that was at full strength.

King really can be our not so secret weapon, despite having been out of favour this season, if he can begin putting in displays like this weekend’s on a more regular basis.

If we are to claw our way back into contention for a top six finish then we need to be hitting the ground running in every match and attacking from the start, and King’s raw pace can help us with that.

We have seen this side’s ability to tear the opposition apart in fleeting glimpses throughout the last 18 months, but rarely are we able to keep it up for 90 minutes.

It is imperative that Rovers take the momentum from the FA Cup into tonight’s trip to Cardiff as, although stuffing Stoke felt good, climbing the up the Championship league table would feel even better.