AMID all the bullets which were flying last week, Graeme Souness made a profound statement about the sticky situation in which his players found themselves.

"In my experience, football mirrors life and you only really find out about people when the going gets tough," he said.

"It's when you're not winning games that you really find out who you'd want alongside you in the trenches."

Souness was, of course, referring to the 'crisis' which was threatening to engulf the club after revelations of bust-ups with Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole hit the back-pages of the tabloids.

But as the media gathered at Villa Park on Saturday to witness what they hoped would be a public flogging, Garry Flitcroft and his team-mates refused to give them the satisfaction by putting in the kind of performance which has been all too rare this season.

It's amazing how a crisis can unify a squad of players.

Look at Leicester City the previous week.

After all their troubles in La Manga, no-one gave them a chance of winning at Birmingham but then they promptly went to St Andrews and ground out a 1-0 victory which breathed new life into their survival hopes.

The same happened at Villa Park at the weekend.

Going into the game, Rovers looked every inch a club in turmoil with the manager seemingly at loggerheads with his two biggest names.

But instead of ripping the camp apart, it actually brought it closer together.

There was a siege mentality about Rovers in the Midlands.

Everyone to a man ran themselves into the ground for the team, including Cole who worked as hard as he has at any point this season.

The restoration of Flitcroft in midfield was perhaps the most crucial factor.

No-one epitomises what this Rovers team should be about more than the skipper himself.

He is the one player Souness needs to keep fit more than any other between now and the end of the season because when he's in the side, Rovers look a far more resolute outfit as a result.

And that passion and commitment rubs off on all those around him. Even Tugay and Martin Andresen, two players not normally known for their aggression and work-rate, were throwing themselves into challenges like men possessed.

Now it's vital the whole team adopts that attitude for the rest of the season.

The win at Villa Park was a great result but a lot of hard work remains to be done.

Saturday's game with Portsmouth is the biggest of the season so far.

With four points currently separating Rovers and Pompey, a home win would put some vital breathing space between the two, and even a point wouldn't be a disaster.

So it's not quite a 'must win' but it's certainly a 'must not lose'.