THE FA Cup win at Charlton would have ticked all the boxes for Gary Bowyer.

He saw his side get a really good win, get a really good draw in the next round, and give him a really nice headache for Sunday’s league game against Wolves.

Gary put out the strongest side he possibly could and I’m glad he did because I’m a great believer that doing that always gives you a better chance of winning football matches and, in turn, breeding confidence.

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Charlton is a very, very tough place to go so to get a victory was really pleasing.

And just as pleasing was the fact that we got a Premier League side in the fourth round.

As a footballer you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘could I play in that league and against those guys every week?’ and ‘just how good am I?’ Those are the type of questions you’ve got to pose yourself as a footballer if you want to get to the top and be successful.

The visit of Swansea to Ewood Park later this month should give Blackburn’s players more of a clue.

If the boys believe they can get promoted this season and believe they can progress and become Premier League players then these are the type of games – one-off games without real pressure – that allows them to show exactly that.

But first things first we’ve got the little matter of important league games against Wolves and then Wigan.

I said in last week’s column that the one-point return we took over the festive matches was disappointing, if not the performances themselves.

But the great thing about beating Charlton is that we will go into Wolves this weekend with the confidence and optimism that we can pick up some points and close the gap on the teams in the top six.

The likes of Chris Taylor, David Dunn and Chris Brown will have done themselves no harm with how they played at the Valley and it means Gary will have a selection headache when it comes to picking his team.

From the players’ point of view they have done all they can to say to their manager, ‘I want to keep my place’.

Now it’s up to Gary to see if he goes with the same side or whether he brings back the likes of Grant Hanley, Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede.

It’s a tough one and, as I say, a real headache.

But it’s a nice headache to have, certainly better than one when you’re not winning games and players are performing poorly.

Instead he’s going to have a load of players who are champing at the bit to start.

And that’s a good position to be in.