MARK Hughes has proved emphatically in the last few days that he's not afraid to make some big decisions.

His decision to leave out Benni McCarthy, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Robbie Savage against Sunderland at the weekend was a bold gamble, but it was one that ended up paying handsome dividends on the day as Rovers returned to Ewood with a hard-earned victory.

Of the three, Robbie probably feels the most hard done by because his performances haven't been bad this season, but maybe the manager felt it was time he had a rest, considering he's only just come back after a serious injury.

As for the other two, I don't think Benni or Morten can really complain about being dropped because their recent form hasn't been up to scratch.

But, whilst Robbie and Morten at least got places on the bench, Benni was left out of the 16 altogether and ordered to stay behind at Brockhall for extra training, which is a powerful statement from the manager.

Now the situation will go one of two ways; Benni will either react positively to the situation and work hard to get his place back, or he will take the hump and sulk, which will place a strain on his relationship with the manager.

Whatever happens, I think we'll learn a lot about the character of Benni McCarthy over the next few weeks and months.

There's no question being left out of the squad like that will be a big blow to his pride.

On the outside, he might put on a front and claim he's happy to do the extra work, but deep down he will be hurting after Hughes publicly stated he wasn't happy with his form or his fitness.

Benni is used to be being the top man, whether it's for South Africa or whichever club he's playing for, so to suddenly get left out of the team like that will dent his ego, and it's going to be interesting to see how he now reacts.

If he's professional about it then he'll get his head down, work hard to get himself in the peak of physical condition, and then get back in the team and start showing the kind of form which made him such a success last season.

There's no question Benni is a quality player and if Rovers are to do well this season then they need him fit and hungry and firing on all cylinders.