A DELIGHTED Mark Hughes declared himself 'very satisfied' with Blackburn Rovers' gutsy 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Rovers produced a brilliant defensive display to frustrate a star-studded Manchester United line-up that included Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo, much to the annoyance of Hughes' mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, who later conceded the Premiership title to Chelsea.

That result means Rovers have taken five points from a possible 12 against opponents in the Premiership's top five over the course of the last month, and Hughes insists his players are now capable of giving any team in the top-flight a run for their money.

"I'm very satisfied," said Hughes, who thoroughly enjoyed his first ever visit to Old Trafford as a Premiership manager.

"We've just come through a period of four games where possibly people who don't really know what we're all about would have felt we wouldn't have got anything out of them.

"We've had to go to Everton, Liverpool and Old Trafford, as well as facing Arsenal at home, but we've come through that four game period having conceded one goal and picked up five points, so we're absolutely delighted with that return given the quality of the opposition.

"Whoever we play now, they know they'll have to perform well and play to the best of their abilities or they won't get a result against us.

"We're a difficult side to beat, we're resolute, we've got a great work ethic and unless the opposition play as well as they can then it's going to be a difficult day for them."

Hughes admitted Rovers rode their luck at times in a gripping first half that saw United twice hit the post.

However, a combination of Brad Friedel's inspired goalkeeping and some steely defending by Andy Todd and Ryan Nelsen ensured Rovers got the point their efforts ultimately deserved.

Hughes said: "They had a number of opportunities in the first half but there's always a period when you come to a place like Old Trafford where the home side are going to put you under pressure.

"When that pressure comes you've got to stand up to it and defend your borders.

"They put some great balls into the box and we had to defend those balls, which we did.

"They also had a couple of fantastic efforts. The one from Rooney, of course, stands out. That was a great strike and we were thankful it hit the outside of the post.

"But in the second half I thought we were more than comfortable and looked really strong.

"In fact, in the last 10 minutes I thought we came on really strong again and we possibly could have nicked it in the end but that would have been greedy."

Rovers might have nicked their first league win at Old Trafford since 1962 had they been slightly more clinical in front of goal on the day.

Jon Stead passed up a couple of half chances but Hughes could hardly be critical of the 21-year-old after he turned in an admirable performance up front in his role as a lone striker.

"Jon worked really, really hard for the team and put in a great performance," said the Rovers boss.

"Given the amount of effort he put in, I think it would be a little bit critical of me to highlight the fact he didn't score as well.

"But he'll be better for that performance. He's had a difficult time this season, as everyone knows, but if he keeps performing like that from now until the end of the season then I'll be delighted."

Now Hughes and Rovers must switch their attention to Saturday's game with Southampton at Ewood.

Hughes believes his players still need to post two more wins before they can start to breathe more easily and he won't allow any minds to wander to the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, which takes place the week after, until the Southampton game is out of the way.

He added: "It's the old clich, we take every game as it comes and that's the way we've had to do it.

"We still need points on the board but the results at the weekend went our way so we are not far off now."