Six months ago, if anyone had said Rovers would qualify for Europe this season there'd have been an orderly queue of people ready to either commit you to the nearest funny farm or punch you.

In fact, only seven days ago there'd have been pretty much the same reaction following the gutless surrenders against West Brom and Everton. So thank goodness for our old friends in the North East, Sunderland.

In to town they trot and give living proof that no matter how bad things seem, there's always someone worse off. The old adage is that there are no easy games in the Premiership but having witnessed the performance by the Wearsiders at Ewood last Wednesday I'd have to say that here is a side who are determined to make that a thing of the past.

Not that I'm complaining, as I said last week they were the perfect side to play after our recent slump. Not only has our losing run been halted but we now stand in our highest league position of the season in seventh. Added to that, the mythical survival figure of forty points has also been reached and the dreaded 'R' word can be put to bed for another season.

So back to the subject of European qualification: can it be done?

I have no doubt whatsoever that it could. The first thing we have in our favour is the run of games that we have from now to the end of the season. All the top sides have been played away from home leaving us, what amounts to a favourable run-in. Although games against West Brom and Everton could have been deemed as favourable fixtures and look what happened there, but I digress.

Then there's the sudden depth that we apparently have in the squad. The treatment room has more or less emptied with Dickov nearing full fitness and Sergio Peter's emergence has added to the healthy competition for places.

Finally, the one trump card that we have from now to the end of the season is Craig Bellamy. His return of eleven goals from twenty one appearances this season is quite spectacular, given the fact that he's had two separate injury lay-offs punctuating those games.

Having listened to previous managers disregard all cup competitions as 'unnecessary distractions' Mark Hughes' approach to them is like a breath of fresh air.

So if we do get into Europe, we can expect to give it a real go.