BLACKBURN Rovers manager Mark Hughes has backed the man who was twice bought to replace him to fire Sunderland to Premier League safety.

Aged 36, and now entering the twilight of his career, veteran hitman Andy Cole may no longer be the feared predator who, in his prime, helped Manchester United scale the heights of Europe.

But, with Roy Keane's Black Cats facing a nervy scrap for survival, Cole's deadly eye for goal and vast experience of pressure situations could still prove to be valuable assets during what is likely to be a tense second half to the season.

That's the view of Hughes, who was twice a team-mate of Cole's; first at Old Trafford in the mid-1990s, and then again, briefly, at Rovers in 2002, when both were part of the team that won the Worthington Cup under Graeme Souness.

In fact, it was Cole's predatory instincts in that final at the Millennium Stadium which delivered Rovers' first major knockout trophy in 74 years.

Now Hughes believes Cole can do a similar job for Sunderland, fuelled by a desire to become only the second player in history - after Alan Shearer - to score 200 Premier League goals.

"I have no doubt if Andy does play, there will be situations that he can exploit because, irrespective of any lessening of your powers as you get older, as a natural goalscorer, you still have that ability to be in the right place at the right time," said Hughes.

"That does not fade to any great extent over time.

"If you can get yourself in the right positions, and the opportunities present themselves, then, as a natural goalscorer, you will take them."

In a remarkable career, which has featured spells at nine of the Premier League's 20 member clubs, Cole has scored an astonishing 186 goals, leaving him second only to Shearer in the all-time list of top scorers.

He enjoyed his most productive period at United, bagging 171 goals in 275 appearances in all competitions, over six years.

Then in December 2001, Cole quit Old Trafford for Rovers, where he averaged better than a goal every three games (37 in 100 appearances) during a three-year spell that was punctuated by public fall-outs with Souness.

Although the pair were never close as team-mates, Hughes still retains an awful lot of respect for Cole, who was twice bought to replace him; first at United in 1995; and then again at Rovers six years later.

"He kept following me around," quipped the Rovers chief.

"I had a stay of execution at United.

"They had done the deal with Andy and within a couple of weeks I was off to Everton, not that I knew it at the time.

"But then I injured my knee and Eric Cantona jumped in the crowd, so I thought I would hang around a little bit longer.

"But then Eric decided to come back, so I thought it was time to go. The rest is history.

"To be fair, Andy was one of the top strikers I played with. He was a natural goalscorer.

"He was really focused on getting in the right positions in the box and, when the chances came his way, he was a great finisher.

"He had great belief in his own ability. He did not suffer fools - he knew what he needed to do to make sure he was successful, and the team was successful.

"He was single-minded in his view about scoring goals, and that's what made him special."

How Sunderland could do with some magic from goal-king' Cole now.

Without an away win all season in the Premier League, the Black Cats head to Ewood tonight more in hope than expectation.

Keane spent £35 million on a dozen new players in the summer but, so far, the former Manchester United ace has yet to discover a winning formula, his team collecting just nine points from a possible 36 since they were beaten 2-1 by Rovers at the Stadium of Light on September 29.

Hughes added: "I think Roy accepted it was always going to be a lot tougher than his first season (when he got them promoted from the Championship).

"The group did a fantastic job for him to get the club out of that division in the first place, but he knew it was going to be more difficult this year, as it's proven to be."