FOUR points from two games and our third consecutive clean sheet, if you count last season's final game demolition of Fulham, has put us in joint third position - I'll settle for that come the end of the season.

While the statistics are impressive, they don't tell the whole tale.

The Sunderland game saw a distinctly below par performance and, while we were much better in patches at St Andrews, I still felt we were some way short of slipping into top gear.

That hopefully makes our solid start all the more encouraging.

However, that is encouraged but not complacent - which is my reaction to events thus far.

With all due respect to our first two opponents, both suffer from a chronic shortage of firepower and neither are likely to feature at the business end of the table come May.

The acid test will come tomorrow night against a Liverpool side buoyed by two straight wins - in many ways it feels like the 'real' start of the season after another couple of warm up games.

Saturday's game saw some of the best and worst of Blackburn Rovers.

When in full flow going forward we're electrifying. When we succumb to what I consider to be our main weakness, sitting back too deep on the edge of our own area, we look terrible.

In a good first half only lacklustre finishing prevented the three points already being in the bag.

The second half then became uncomfortable as we sat back 20 or 30 yards too deep allowing Birmingham and their vocal fans a chance to build up a head of steam.

As the pressure and noise levels intensified the ball became more and more like a hot potato as it was hoofed upfield and came straight back with interest due to the lack of any sort of outlet - and chances went begging.

Andy Cole, normally so prolific, was the main culprit, and had he scored four, he would probably have admitted he had never had four easier chances.

On the law of averages, I can't help thinking that someone is going to suffer very badly at the feet of Mr. Cole very soon - let's hope it's the Scousers tomorrow night.

With apologies to Frank Sinatra though, "Start spreading the news, he's here to play, he wants to be a part of it and his performance was the highlight of the day. Dwight Yorke Dwight Yorke!"

His winning goal and the final whistle were greeted by the trademark ear to ear grin, and the three points were an early down-payment on his ridiculously modest transfer fee.

Despite being under what must be huge personal pressure following the recent bad news about the health of his baby son and former partner Jordan, and despite not having played much football in recent months Dwight appears to have settled in quickly.

I guess it adds weight to the old school of thought that if you're good enough you can play and be a success more or less straightaway anywhere.

Anyway by the time I write this column next week we should have a much clearer idea of our prospects following the games against Liverpool and a revamped Middlesbrough for whom Maccarone looks very tasty.