SAM Allardyce has hailed El-Hadji Diouf’s new-found maturity after insisting his settled lifestyle is bringing out the best in him.

Rovers’ controversial midfielder was the inspiration behind their thrilling 2-1 win at Blackpool on Saturday, with Allardyce claiming his bad-boy days are behind him.

While Brett Emerton proved the last-gasp match winner, after Matt Phillips had cancelled out Charlie Adam’s own-goal opener, it was Diouf’s dazzling display that attracted all the plaudits.

Even rival boss Ian Holloway was left impressed by his telling contribution on the left flank, claiming Allardyce had turned him ‘from a rottweiler into a poodle’.

Allardyce said: “We’ve spent a lot of time on making sure he tries to get rid of that image he had before. He’s never going to lose it, there’s no danger about that.

“It is about can you handle him. He’s not so much a difficult character because he’s a jovial pleasant lad and fantastic from that point of view, but he has little spells where he loses his cool and makes trouble for himself that he shouldn’t make.

“But he’s maturing somewhat and that’s hopefully going to get better and better, and he keeps playing the football he was today.

“Basically we talked to him about the stuff he has to be careful of. People will look out for him because he portrays himself in this image with stand out clothes.

“He has some of the worst gear you’ve ever seen in your life. You can’t miss him from three miles away with some of the colours. Big chains, big belts, big blond hair.

“He still goes out obviously but I don’t think he’s still flashing around in the big nightclubs around Manchester like he used to. That’s helping his game.”

Diouf had a hand in both of Rovers’ goals as they showed their character to recover from Phillips’ 85th minute equaliser to secure their first away win of the season.

Having already thrown away four leads this campaign, Rovers were left feeling a sense of deja-vu when Phillips struck late on but Diouf’s penetrative run in injury time provided Emerton with the chance of becoming the hero.

“Diouf was absolutely brilliant,”said Allardyce. “It was a major, major contribution to us winning the game today.

“The threat he posed down the left-hand side or when he switched over to the right made life very difficult for their full-backs. He provided lots of dangerous balls into the box for us to try and take advantage of.

“It gave us a breather as well. He picked the ball up deep in his own half when we were under pressure and took it right up to their penalty area. Nobody could get the ball off him today.

“From our point of view it’s about how he plays on the field, and he’s been consistently good for us. Not just in this game but the whole season. “ Diouf’s Premier League best has coincided with playing under Allardyce’s stewardship, first at Bolton and now at Rovers.

And when asked what it takes to keep the Senegalese star on the rails, Allardyce claimed it was all about respect.

 “He had spells like this at Bolton when we first got him,” said Allardyce. “He was a major contributor to us reaching Europe and finishing in the top eight or better when I was there and in those last four seasons before I left.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s scared of me. I think he respects me and I respect his ability. If he gets into trouble he gets punished like everybody else.

“It’s a maturity thing for him. He’s come from Senegal, spent many years in France and then comes over here as a bit of a jack-the-lad.

“He got a little bit carried away but obviously has settled down now and long may it continue.”