GRAEME Souness is ready to pin his faith in the 'odd couple' as Blackburn Rovers gear up for a frantic fight to the finish.

A buoyant Souness believes he's struck upon a winning formula at the heart of his revamped defence in the shape of Lorenzo Amoruso's partnership with Craig Short.

And the Rovers boss is convinced his veteran duo have the know-how necessary to guide the team to their survival target during a testing run-in which starts tomorrow at Goodison Park, where Everton's Wayne Rooney lies in waiting.

Amoruso and Short were the two defensive rocks on which last Saturday's crucial 1-0 victory against Leicester was built.

Both played pivotal roles in stifling the dangerous Les Ferdinand as Rovers kept a clean sheet at Ewood Park for the first time in almost five months.

That prompted Souness to say Rovers' Premiership status would have been secured some time ago had Amoruso and Short been available all season.

And recent results would appear to bare that argument out as back-to-back wins have been achieved since the forging of Souness's new alliance.

Off the pitch, it would be difficult to find two more contrasting figures than Amoruso and Short.

One is a style-conscious Italian with a film-star persona while the other is a straight-talking Yorkshireman who served his apprenticeship in the lower divisions.

On first impressions, Amoruso hardly strikes you as the archetypal 'reliable' defender.

After the Leicester game, he breezed into the media theatre with the air of a man who might have strolled straight off the set of Footballers' Wives.

While the rain outside was pouring from the slate-grey skies, Amoruso arrived for the post-match Press conference with a pair of designer sun-glasses perched fashionably on his head.

Then there was the designer stubble, the earring, the bracelet, and the over-sized silver cross draped around his neck.

In terms of style, Short and Amoruso are as different as chalk and mozzarella.

But the two share a mutual appreciation of their own strengths and weaknesses and somehow they seem to have hit it off as a partnership on the pitch.

"Lorenzo's definitely what I thought he was going to be," said Short.

"He's loud, he's very strong and he's probably quicker than a lot of people give him credit for.

"He also reads the game very well because there were one or two occasions when I got caught out last Saturday and he was covering round behind me.

"He's a bit more flamboyant than me and he's also better on the ball.

"But I've felt pretty comfortable playing with both him and Toddy this year.

"It's just unfortunate for Andy that he lost his place because he was doing pretty well but the boss thought it was right to get us back in and it seems to have worked alright so far."

Rovers' new-found defensive mettle will be put to the test again tomorrow by an Everton side eager to banish any lingering relegation fears of their own.

David Moyes's side have a decent home record having won eight and drawn five of their 17 matches at Goodison this season.

And with someone like Rooney in the ranks, they have the armoury to cause any team serious problems on their day.

Nevertheless, Rovers will make the short trip to Merseyside in confident mood, knowing that six of their 10 Premiership wins have come on the road this season.

"Every time we win a game, it's a big relief," said Short, who made 99 league appearances for Everton during a four year period.

"You go out before a game thinking 'what are we going to be like today?'

"Our home form has been terrible. Teams have been relegated with 25 points in the past who've had better home form than us.

"We know we're not safe yet but, hopefully, if things turn out well then we've got to learn from this because we can't keep relying on picking points up at places like Chelsea and beating Villa away."