FOOTBALL'S incredible ability to throw up surprises never ceases to amaze me.
Who would have thought that Blackburn Rovers would be entering the most crucial month of the season so far with Andy Todd and Craig Short as the team's potential saviours?
Cast your minds back to the summer when Todd and Short were seemingly peripheral figures in Graeme Souness's masterplan.
One had just handed in a transfer request and was preparing to go out on loan to Burnley while the other spent most of his time on the treatment table as he began the long process of recovering from a serious knee injury.
In the meantime, Souness was busy planning for the future and he signalled his intentions with the recruitment of Lorenzo Amoruso and Markus Babbel.
At that point, the prospect of either Todd or Short becoming an integral part of a new-look Rovers side looked remote in the extreme.
Amoruso and Babbel were meant to be the new dream ticket but the fickle finger of fate quickly intervened as both succumbed to injuries, leaving the door open for the old guard to return.
First, Todd was recalled from his loan spell at Burnley and the 29-year-old has been Rovers' most consistent performer during the last two months.
Then Short made his comeback from injury in the recent defeat at Manchester United.
It was the first time the two had been paired together all season and it's no coincidence that Rovers have shown signs of tightening up as a result.
On Saturday, both were magnificent in blunting a Tottenham attack which cost £14 million to assemble.
Robbie Keane and Helder Postiga hardly got a kick as Rovers kept their first clean sheet of the campaign at the 17th attempt, proving there really is no substitute for experience in the Premiership.
Now the challenge for Graeme must be to keep his two war-horses fit and focused for what promises to be a crucial festive programme.
Short, in particular, must be wrapped up in cotton wool between now and May in order to ensure he's fit and ready for action on a Saturday.
If that means scaling down his training programme then so be it.
People like Tony Adams and Paul McGrath barely used to train at all between games during the latter stages of their career and that didn't have a detrimental effect on their form. In fact, both got better with age.
So as Rovers prepare for a glut of games over the coming month, let's hope the old guard continue to maintain the same impressive standards that were set at the weekend.
It's worth noting that Rovers have drawn one and lost eight of the nine games in which the opposition have scored first this season.
That makes the task of keeping things tight at the back even more important than ever.
