We still await our first win in nearly two full seasons against one of the traditional top four sides, but after our plucky defeat against Liverpool at Anfield I have more faith that it might come before the season is over.

We have yet to host at Ewood the other three members of that exclusive club, and it would put a gloss on the season if we could just register a win in one of those big games.

With eight shots on target against Liverpool’s three it should arguably have come at Anfield and no-one who saw the whole game could seriously dispute that we merited at least a point.

The two class acts in the Liverpool team were the difference once again.

If we had Gerrard and Torres in our side we’d beat Liverpool eight times out of 10 and would be challenging for a Champions League spot ourselves.

Our 2-1 defeat while disappointing was nowhere near as dispiriting as a defeat by the same score for the Clarets against a Portsmouth, team in administration and destined for the drop who have nevertheless managed the double over our neighbours. I got some stick over the last week for suggesting that I wanted them to survive.

And yet I still feel it would be better to have them in the Premier League as the rivalry has an extra dimension when we’re in the same division.

At least they are now battling to avoid only two relegation spots.

One of the more annoying quotes of the last week was Fabio Capello’s claim that Stephen Warnock has improved since joining Aston Villa.

I beg to differ with the England manager. From what I’ve seen he played just as well at Rovers but what has improved is the publicity he’s received by being with a more fashionable club.

The sad fate of Pompey last week should act as a reality check not just to football clubs in general but more specifically to those Rovers fans who believe we should chase the dream and invest in expensive signings.

Going for broke for clubs like Portsmouth and Leeds before them has proven to be a self-fulfilling aim and we should just thank our lucky stars that we have a chairman and board that have resisted the temptation to push the boat out.

It makes no odds that the club with the biggest debt has just won the Carling Cup and those other Reds who just edged out Rovers on Sunday aren’t far behind in the ‘in the red’ club.

As long as these sides keep winning they will probably survive but lets just see what happens if one of these giants fails to make it to the Champions League.

In the words of the late great Nat King Cole (and no he wasn’t Andy’s dad) ‘There May Be Trouble Ahead’.