ROVERS reporter Rich Sharpe picks out three talking points from the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United at Ewood Park.

PLAYERS’ PRIDE

THE Rovers players were out on their feet come the final whistle, something that wasn’t lost on the home fans who stayed behind to applaud their side off the pitch.

Restricting a team with United’s quality to just three shots on target in 90 minutes was impressive – made possible by the amount of work without the ball.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Five of the Rovers starting line-up have endured injury absences already in 2017, while Marvin Emnes missed two weeks of action before his return was secured.

So it was no surprise to see the hosts tire as the game went on, but the level of spirit they showed will have given the fans’ hope that, if replicated in their remaining 15 league games, they stand a chance of avoiding the drop.

Rovers too showed a great deal of quality in possession - scoring a magnificent opening goal which won the seal of approval from Jose Mourinho - as well as forcing several good saves out of United goalkeeper Sergio Romero.

STRENGTH IN RESERVE

IF THE cost of the starting XIs wasn’t an indication of the size of the task facing Rovers, then the substitutes benches certainly were.

Rovers’ included three Academy graduates as well as reserve goalkeeper David Raya, 37-year-old Wes Brown, loanee Stephen Hendrie and striker Anthony Stokes.

That was stark contrast to the away dugout which boasted £192m worth of talent, including Paul Pogba, the world’s most expensive player at £89m.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Jose Mourinho had seen enough from both sides to know he needed to turn to his bench, the most costly in FA Cup history, as the hour mark passed, sending on Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

That came at a time when Rovers’ legs started to tire, and in the end the United pair linked up to devastating effort to turn the game.

Across the dugout, Coyle sent on Tomlinson for his debut, and 20-year-old Mahoney, who looked far from over-awed as Rovers sent up a grandstand finish.

But that just highlighted the gulf between the sides, 22 years on from when the pair were battling it out for the Premier League title.

FROM POGBA TO PIRELLI

THERE was certainly a case of drawing a line under what had gone before and looking ahead to what lies ahead when Coyle gave his post-match interviews.

That didn’t mean the Rovers boss overlooked the excellent performance of his players but he was quick to point out the focus was now on Rovers’ 15 ‘cup finals’ in their bid to ensure Championship survival, starting with Friday’s trip to Burton Albion.

Lancashire Telegraph:

The United game was the first of eight games in 27 potentially season defining days for Rovers as they face a battle against the drop.

They can take plenty from the valiant effort against United, but it will count for little if they fail to build on it at the Pirelli Stadium.