MIDFIELD hardman David Batty has made some enemies during his football career.

But Blackburn boss Graeme Souness has nothing but admiration for the Leeds enforcer's strong-arm tactics.

And, had fate conspired differently, he could well have saved his job as manager of Liverpool during the early 90s.

When Souness took over at Anfield, he soon realised the dressing room lacked strong leaders and quickly identified Batty as the man to inject some steel into midfield after Leeds had indicated he might be available.

But the Liverpool board weren't prepared to wait until the end of the season and Souness ended up signing Nigel Clough instead -- a player who never hit it off at Anfield.

"I have to admit Nigel wasn't my first choice," said Souness.

"I'd been tracking David Batty at Leeds for a long time and I was on friendly terms with Bill Fotherby, a Leeds director who eventually became chairman.

"He assured me we could get Batty at the end of the season and I was giving the board regular updates.

"They felt we should sign Nigel because his contract was due to expire and we were sure to get him, and they were reluctant to wait for Batty just in case he decided to stay at Leeds.

"That was a shame because I thought Batty was a young, aggressive midfield player who I felt would have been great for Liverpool at that time.

"But we didn't come up with the money."

Now Batty stands in the way of Rovers and three points at Ewood tomorrow.

But, unlike his side at Liverpool, Souness insists he now has the characters in his dressing room to rise to the challenge.