Tour match: Bahlinger SC 0 Blackburn Rovers 1

GRAEME Souness arranged a wine-tasting evening for his troops on the eve of last night's friendly against German part-timers Bahlinger.

But, though the football that followed may not have been to the flavour of the connoisseur, those who made the trip to this footballing outpost were given a taste of the brave new world Souness aims to instill at Ewood next season.

It may be dangerous to draw conclusions so soon but the message reverberating around the Kaiserstuhlstadion came over loud and clear last night.

Just four months after taking up the Ewood hot-seat, one of football's toughest ever hardmen is starting to make his mark.

There was no such thing as a friendly in Souness's vocabulary.

And on this evidence, he's starting to mould his team into thinking the same way.

Considered a soft-touch by many last season in the hurly-burly of the First Division, Rovers displayed the kind of raw aggression which has been so conspicuous by its absence over the last 12 months.

At times it wasn't pretty -- although the state of the playing surface was hardly conducive to free-flowing football.

But the men charged with leading the club back to the Premiership's promised land showed signs of a new spirit and determination which so often deserted them at crucial times last season. And that new-found togetherness could turn out to pay big dividends over the coming months.

"I expect us to be competitive and I'm happy to see that.

"I like my sides to put themselves about -- I always have," said Souness. "And it pleased me to see the players showing that level of commitment."

In fairness, this wasn't one for the purists.

Both sides showed signs of rustiness and lacked the killer instinct in front of goal.

But there was still plenty for Souness to be encouraged by.

New-boy John Curtis made a sound debut at right-back, showing plenty of pace and composure going forward.

And skipper Garry Flitcroft looks ready to put his injury nightmares behind him after a traumatic 18 months.

Matt Jansen did his chances no harm with another vibrant display up front.

And Ashley Ward -- who came in for some stick from the terraces towards the back end of last season -- appears to have rediscovered some sharpness.

It would be foolish, however, to get carried away.

Neat and tidy though they were on the ball, Erhard Bender's Bahlinger SC are a million miles away from what awaits Souness and Co in the Nationwide League next season. And when it came to the final third, the German part-timers lacked the quality to pose any serious threat.

It took Rovers just 11 minutes to break the deadlock.

Damien Duff -- again the architect of most of Rovers' best moves -- whipped over a teasing left-wing centre which Flitcroft headed goalwards and defender Juliano Saggiano turned the ball past his own keeper under pressure from Ward.

However, the anticipated avalanche never materialised.

Duff screwed a shot beyond the far post and Craig Short headed straight at keeper Mike Mack.

Souness made seven changes at half time which upset Rovers' rhythm after the break.

But they still looked the more likely going forward as Jansen danced past a posse of defenders only to be denied by the keeper.

And the same player somehow managed to scoop a David Dunn centre over the bar from just three yards.

The match petered out as a spectacle in the last half hour.

But by the final whistle, both managers deemed it a valuable exercise.

"I was pleased with the effort our lads put in," said Souness.

"With the state the pitch was in, it wasn't easy out there." And his counterpart, Bender, added: "I was very proud of my players.

"We've only been back in training a week and I thought we gave a good account of ourselves."

"But Blackburn are a good team and I was particularly impressed with Jansen and Ward.

"Their movement was excellent and caused us problems.

"I think they will have a good season.

Rovers; Filan, Curtis, Harkness, Dailly, Short, McAteer, Dunn, Flitcroft, Ward, Jansen, Duff. Subs: Ostenstad (for Ward, 45 mins), Miller (for Filan, 45), Johnson (for McAteer, 45), Broomes (for Short, 45), Taylor (for Dailly, 45), Murphy (for Harkness, 45), Baldacchino (for Duff, 45).

Bahlinger; Mack, Weber, Volk, Jauch, Saggiomo, Kunz, Meyer, Bach, Schuke, Schwald, Berrisesou. Subs; Neumann (for Mack, 45), Kupfmer (for Jauch, 45), Gibon (for Schunke, 45), Geiger (for Kunz, 64).

Referee: Ingo Bilek (Muggenstrum) Assistants: Gianni Tedesco (Rastatt)

Robert Rommich (Rastatt)

Attendance: No official figure.