ANYONE still under the misapprehension that Graeme Souness has mellowed as a manager had better start thinking again.

For it was quite clearly the Souness of old who sat smouldering in the post match press conference after witnessing this abject surrender at the hands of Peter Reid's street fighters.

And, quite frankly, who could blame him because the fare served up by Rovers during the previous 90 minutes was about as appetising as a turkey sandwich on December 30!

Souness has done much to transform the club's fortunes over the last 18 months after inheriting the mess left by Brian Kidd.

But even he was at a loss to explain what went wrong here as Rovers' returned to those bad old days with the kind of performance which had everyone reaching for the hangover cures.

Once again -- as at The Stadium of Light in September -- it was giant striker Niall Quinn who was cast as this pantomime's villain after his deadly first half double put Rovers on skid row.

But a furious Souness later insisted many of the wounds were self-inflicted as he watched his side slump to a third straight home defeat in the league in disastrous fashion.

"We were miserable," blasted the Rovers chief. "That's the worst 45 minutes since I've been at this club without a doubt.

"We were second to everything in the first 45 minutes, especially in midfield, and we made them look like Brazil in the end.

"There was nothing about our game to entertain the crowd and nothing about our spirit to give our supporters something to shout about.

"And that's very, very disappointing."

From the moment Rovers first clinched promotion last May, Souness was quick to warn fans that his team might get their nose blooded on occasions this season.

But even he would hardly have expected that to happen at the hands of a side like Sunderland -- particularly on home soil.

Make no mistake, though, the Black Cats were fully deserving of the cream.

And, but for an inspired display from keeper Brad Friedel, the damage could have been far worse as the visitors cruised to one of the most comprehensive victories in the Premiership this season.

Sloppy defensively, off the pace in midfield and alarmingly lightweight up front, there was little to warm the cockles on a bitterly cold Boxing Day afternoon.

And if the striker situation in particular isn't addressed quickly, then Rovers could be in for a bleak mid-winter.

Craig Short -- who endured a nightmare afternoon culminating in his second half sending off -- summed up the depth of disappointment when he said: "I think the gaffer's probably at his most frustrated since he's been here. That's what he said to us after the game," said Short.

"That was certainly the most disappointed I've seen him, apart from when Manchester City won 4-1 here two seasons ago."

Not only did Rovers lose the war in the physical sense, but I also felt they lost the tactical battle.

The decision to switch to a 3-5-2 formation meant wingers Jason McAteer and Julio Arca revelled in the extra space down the flanks and, with a man like Quinn prowling around the penalty spot, the last thing you can afford to do is allow the widemen to bombard the box with crosses.

That's exactly what happened, though, and the 35-year-old Irishman responded in typical style with his first goals since September 22.

In stark contrast, Rovers were completely toothless in attack and Ciccio Grabbi's season continues to go from bad to worse.

With just one goal to show for his efforts this term, the hapless Italian's confidence looks shot at as he struggles to adapt to the pace of life in England -- so much so that I began to feel sorry for him as he trudged dejectedly around Ewood in a sorry first half.

But he wasn't the only one to have an off-day as Rovers had a collective nightmare.

The absence of Tugay in midfield certainly didn't help and his link-up play was sorely missed as passes went astray in a desperately disjointed opening 45 minutes.

And a bad day at the office then got even worse when Short saw red in the 69th minute for raising an arm at Sunderland sub Kevin Kyle.

The incident itself was innocuous at best but by then the damage had already been done.

"When you raise your arms you always run the risk of that happening so I wasn't surprised when he produced the red card," said Short.

"But it was a silly one rather than anything malicious.

"I'd just got so frustrated by the situation."

Bristling with energy and invention, Sunderland started off brightly and Rovers found the tempo of their play simply too hot to handle.

Friedel saved majestically from both Quinn and Gavin McCann while Short sliced a dangerous McAteer cross against his own post.

But that reprieve was only temporary as Quinn opened his account in the 17th minute when he brilliantly smashed home the opener at the far post after Kevin Phillips had flicked on Claudio Reyna's cross-shot.

Friedel then excelled again with a wonderful reflex save to tip a Reyna free kick onto the crossbar.

But he was left stranded when Quinn struck for the second time in the 32nd minute, expertly flicking Arca's inswinging free kick inside the far post with a clever back header.

Things could have got worse for Rovers within 30 seconds of the restart as Phillips rapped the base of a post after a cross from former Ewood favourite Jason McAteer.

Rovers, in contrast, rarely offered much as an attacking force although Garry Flitcroft missed a golden chance to grab a lifeline when he fired over with only Thomas Sorensen to beat following clever prompting by the disappointing David Dunn.

To compound Souness's misery, Short then received his marching orders in the 69th minute after catching Kyle with a raised arm.

And it was left to Kilbane to rub salt into the wounds with a simple tap-in in the dying seconds as Rovers' 10 men capitulated once again.

Now Souness must raise the spirits quickly as Saturday's game against Derby has suddenly taken on epic proportions.

But surely Rovers can't play this badly again. ROVERS...0 SUNDERLAND...3 Scorers: Quinn 17, 32 Kilbane 90