GRAEME Souness could find himself reaching for the Anadin as Saturday's Premiership curtain raiser with West Brom draws nearer.

But the Blackburn Rovers boss has the kind of headache that all football managers crave at this time of year.

With the start of the new season just days away, this was the last chance for those on the fringes of Souness's squad to force their way into the manager's thinking for the visit of the newly-promoted Baggies.

And several players put forward strong cases for inclusion as Rovers wrapped up their friendly campaign with a convincing win on this quaint stretch of the Irish coast.

Souness has already described this squad as the strongest he's worked with in his four years at Blackburn.

Now he must come up with the right combination to beat West Brom in five days' time, which is no easy task given the range of options at his disposal.

Over the last four weeks, Souness has tried various different formations and personnel.

But the time for experimenting is over and the Rovers chief admits there's much to ponder before he finally pins up his team-sheet at 2.15pm on Saturday.

When asked if he knew what his side would be to face the Baggies, Souness smiled as he answered: "More or less. But then I've got to say that, haven't I?"

In truth, the Rovers boss probably has a few sleepless nights ahead of him as he agonises over his final eleven.

For instance, will Craig Short resume his partnership with Lorenzo Amoruso, or has Nissa Johansson done enough to muscle his way in at centre-back?

Will Dominic Matteo continue in a holding midfield role at the expense of Tugay?

And what's the best way of utilising the mercurial talents of Javier De Pedro, who still looks short of match fitness after missing a large chunk of pre-season training due to a thigh strain?

All those questions need addressing in the next few days and if the water wasn't muddy enough already then the second half performances of Brett Emerton and Vratislav Gresko - who did well in an unfamiliar midfield role - only served to cloud it even further.

Emerton, in particular, caught the eye with an exciting display at right-back.

By his own admittance, the Aussie only performed in fits and starts last season but for 45 minutes here, he looked like the player who tore Wolves to shreds 12 months ago.

It was also good to see Jon Stead back amongst the goals again.

The former Huddersfield man has had something of a lean spell by his standards so far this summer but a neatly taken first half strike should act as a timely confidence booster.

And Barry Ferguson looks to be getting stronger with every game as he slowly feels his way back after a serious He was a steadying influence in the Rovers midfield and there are signs of a decent understanding developing between him and Matteo.

Before anyone gets too carried away by the result, however, it's important to state that Bray were decidedly ordinary and West Brom will be a tougher proposition altogether.

Pat Devlin's part-timers are currently lying third in the Irish equivalent of the First Division and they put up little resistance after falling behind.

De Pedro created the game's first chance with a clever pass that released Stead but the 21-year-old dragged his effort wide of the post.

Then Bray had a 10-minute spell where they called all the shots and they were desperately unlucky not to take the lead.

Robbie McGuiness forced an excellent save out of Peter Enckelman, Eamon Zayed saw another effort cleared off the line by a defender, and a Stephen Fox shot sailed just over the bar.

When Rovers finally broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, it came against the run of play.

De Pedro worked a short corner to Ferguson on the right hand edge of the box and the Scottish midfielder twisted and turned past a defender before curling in a shot that seemed to strike Dwight Yorke on its way into the net.

Stead then made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time, forcing the ball home from close-range after a slick move involving De Pedro and Jon Douglas.

The second half was totally dominated by Rovers who repeatedly carved open a tiring Bray defence.

Johansson grabbed his side's third goal in the 56th minute, deftly hooking a shot past Chris O'Connor following a goalmouth scramble.

De Pedro then missed a golden chance to add his name to the score-sheet before his corner in the 74th minute led to Amoruso bundling home Rovers' fourth.

There was still time for Paul Gallagher to rattle the crossbar with a thumping 20-yard volley but Bray escaped further punishment.

BRAY: O'Connor, Tresson, Farrell, Lynch, Charles, Gifford, McGuiness, Fox, Zayed, James, Ryan. Subs: Hutton (for Farrell, 46), O'Reilly (for Lynch, 46), Lawless (for Gifford, 63), McGory (for Zayed, 63), Long (for Ryan, 63), Flood (for Tresson, 67), Manley (for McGuiness, 73), Pasfield (for O'Connor, 75), Roche (for James, 77)

ROVERS: Enckelman, Neill, Gray, Amoruso, Johansson, Matteo, Ferguson, Douglas, Stead, Yorke, De Pedro. Subs: Gallagher (for Yorke, 46), Gresko (for Douglas, 46), Emerton (for Neill, 51), Flitcroft (for Stead, 57), Yelldell (for Enckelman, 67) Not used: Dickov