Hughes outsmarts his old pal Fergie

Blackburn Rovers' bright young manager is fast beginning to forge a reputation as one of the Premiership's more astute tacticians, and he gave a further demonstration of his growing prowess here in an arena where his warrior-like performances are already the stuff of legends.

Hughes the player was a gladiator in the red of Manchester United, a ferocious competitor who relished a fight.

Now Hughes the manager is beginning to mould this Blackburn team into his own image and likeness, and the way they fearlessly tamed a United side brimming with attacking talent will not have gone unnoticed in the corridors of power at Old Trafford.

What Hughes has achieved at Rovers in the six months since he succeeded Graeme Souness is nothing short of sensational.

When he first took charge in September, Hughes inherited a team that was heading for the Coca-Cola Championship.

Rovers were deeply entrenched in the Premiership's bottom three, there was unrest in the dressing room, and the leakiest defence in the top flight was shipping goals faster than Brad Friedel could pick them out of his net.

Contrast that to what you see now and the transformation verges on the miraculous.

Rovers have taken five points out of a possible 12 from successive games against four of the Premiership's top five, and three of those matches have been on enemy territory.

Even more impressively, however, Rovers have conceded just one goal in all that time against the collective might of Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.

This latest shut-out was arguably the most admirable of the lot given United's recent form at Old Trafford, where they haven't lost a Premiership game in almost 12 months.

There were times when Rovers rode their luck in the first half, particularly when Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane struck the same post with thunderous drives from distance.

But generally speaking, a United side boasting more than £50 million worth of attacking talent did not have the guile to breach a brilliant Rovers rearguard that is fast becoming one of the meanest in the Premier League under Hughes' shrewd direction.

In the 21 league games since they lost 4-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October, Rovers have never lost by more than one goal and Brad Friedel has kept 10 clean sheets in the process.

Much of the credit for that must go to Hughes and his coaching staff for the way they have managed to instil concentration, discipline, stamina and application into a group of players who had become a soft touch under Souness.

Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, recently lambasted Rovers for their 'rough house' tactics but those comments do Hughes and his team a great disservice.

Yes, Blackburn are physical and uncompromising under the passionate Welshman but defending, like attacking, is an art form in its own way and the steely resolve that Hughes has successfully fostered in his players deserves admiration not contempt.

"I think everyone can see we have a real determination not to get beat in every game that we take part in," said Hughes, as he reflected on another job well done.

"If a team is going to beat us then they'll have to work extremely hard to match how hard we work.

"At times we have limitations - we know that. But I have to say our work ethic and the way we apply ourselves, and our determination not to get beat is on a par with any team in this league."

The impeccable Friedel was the real star for Rovers but Hughes had heroes in every department on a day when virtually everyone in a blue and white shirt stood up to be counted.

Ryan Nelsen and Andy Todd were outstanding once again at the back and they were given excellent protection by Steven Reid, Garry Flitcroft and Aaron Mokoena, who all did a super job of denying United time and space in midfield.

Jon Stead also deserves great credit for the way he skilfully held the ball up in his role as a lone striker, despite the close attention of Rio Ferdinand.

Rovers could have made a dream start after just 50 seconds when a rare slip from Ferdinand let Stead in but the England Under 21 international shot tamely at Tim Howard.

United's response was immediate and within a minute, Friedel pulled off a jaw-dropping save to keep out Rooney's point-blank header.

The Reds were dealt a blow soon after when Ryan Giggs limped off with a hamstring injury and as they regrouped, Rovers missed a glorious chance to capitalise when Todd fired over after Howard had spilled a pot-shot from Reid.

That was the signal for United to slip through the gears and Rovers' goal led a charmed life for the remainder of the half.

Friedel pulled off another gravity defying save to deny Mikael Silvestre, Keane and Rooney both threatened to uproot the post with long-range pile-drivers, and the diving Morten Gamst Pedersen acrobatically headed another Silvestre effort off the line.

Had the Norwegian showed similar conviction at the opposite end moments later, he might have stunned the Stretford End into silence but his glancing header from Reid's beautifully flighted cross skidded agonisingly wide of Howard's far post.

There was still time for Paul Scholes to spurn another golden chance for United seconds before the break when he fired wide of the near post.

As the second half began, the home fans must have thought it was only a matter of time before their team broke the deadlock but United were never allowed to build up a sustained spell of pressure.

In fact, it got to the point where United fans started chanting for the introduction of Alan Smith from the substitutes' bench as their sense of frustration grew and the England man finally replaced a disconsolate Ruud van Nistelrooy.

However, Smith's arrival failed to have the desired effect and if anything, Rovers might have gone on to snatch a shock victory had Stead made more of a half-chance.

But that failed to take the gloss off what was an excellent day for Rovers and Hughes.

United (4-3-2-1): Howard; G Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O'Shea; Fortune, Scholes, Ronaldo; Rooney, Giggs; van Nistelrooy. Subs: Keane (for Giggs, 6mins), Smith (for van Nistelrooy, 63mins) Not used: P Neville, Brown, Carroll

Referee: Mr M Riley (Leeds) 6

Bookings: United; G Neville, Smith, Keane Rovers; Stead, Nelsen

Sendings off: None

Attendance: 67,939