BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes was quick to praise Morten Gamst Pedersen after the Norwegian was the life and soul of this New Year's Day party.

The former Tromso star may have struggled for form since he changed the name on his shirt to Gamst at the beginning of the season, but his performance here was reminiscent of the Pedersen of old.

The mercurial midfielder laid the foundations for Rovers' third straight victory of the holiday period by providing two assists in a man-of-the-match display.

Pedersen's first telling contribution of the afternoon came in the 37th minute, when one of his trademark free kicks forced Emile Heskey to head past his own keeper under pressure from Zurab Khizanishvili.

Then 13 minutes into the second half, more unselfish work by Pedersen led to Matt Derbyshire scoring his first senior goal for Rovers, which effectively put this match out of Wigan's reach.

By the time leading scorer Benni McCarthy added a killer third 15 minutes from time, the vast majority of those Latics fans who had bothered to turn up for this North West derby were already making for the exits.

Rovers have now taken nine points out of a possible nine since the 6-2 massacre at the Emirates 11 days ago - a fabulous response that says much about the character that courses through the veins of this team.

And instead of starting 2007 looking over their shoulders, which looked like it might be the case in the immediate aftermath of that defeat to Arsenal, Rovers now have their sights set on breaking into the Premiership's top 10.

It's a remarkable turnaround in fortunes, and no one epitomises it more than Pedersen, who is rediscovering his form at exactly the right time.

"Morten's playing very well at the moment," purred Hughes, with great satisfaction.

"Over the last month or so he's really started to show the form he was in last year and I've been delighted with him.

"He looks stronger and I think they all look really forceful and powerful and very fit.

"Given that we've just completed two Premier League games in 48 hours, and nine games in the month of December, it was a big ask for everyone.

"But we've come through it with flying colours, and that's credit to the fitness of the squad."

It was at Christmas time last year when Rovers' push for a top six spot started to gather momentum.

Three wins in eight days 12 months ago, including a 3-0 victory over Wigan on New Year's Eve, lifted Rovers into the top half of the table, and from that point onwards they never looked back.

Now Hughes is hoping history will repeat itself again after this latest victory over the Latics elevated them into 11th position - their highest placing since early November.

Keen to freshen things up following Saturday's energy sapping victory over Middlesbrough, Hughes made three changes to the side that started against Boro.

Stephane Henchoz and Khizanishvili replaced Andy Todd and Andre Ooijer in the centre of defence, and there was a rare start, too, for Aaron Mokoena, who came in for Tugay in midfield.

It took a while for Rovers to get into their stride but once they did, they completely overpowered a Wigan side that was low on confidence after four straight defeats in the league.

The Latics are notoriously quick starters and, true to form, they came flying out of the traps, putting Rovers under a sustained spell of pressure during the opening skirmishes.

David Cotterill, who was particularly prominent early on, fired a couple of speculative efforts over the crossbar, and Heskey also headed over from a teasing Cotterill cross.

The game was almost 20 minutes old before Rovers found their legs and carved out a meaningful attack.

McCarthy made a yard of space for himself with some nifty footwork on the right-hand side of the box, but his clever pull-back from the bye-line just evaded Shabani Nonda, who was lurking ominously, and the danger was cleared.

Back came Wigan and a real firecracker from Josip Skoko forced a sharp save out of Brad Friedel, who did well to pick up the flight of the ball as it screamed through a crowded penalty area.

Looking to utilise the pace of Heskey and Cotterill, Wigan attempted to get the ball forward early at every opportunity.

Mokoena and Lucas Neill both picked up bookings for two late lunges in their desperation to stop the Latics in their tracks.

It wasn't all one-way traffic, though, and more clever play from McCarthy, who tricked his way past two defenders, led to an opening for Nonda, but his shot was blocked by Arjan De Zeeuw.

When the opening goal finally arrived, it came from a most unlikely source.

Rovers were awarded a free kick by the right-hand touchline, in classic Pedersen territory.

The Norwegian arrowed a wickedly swerving cross in towards the near post, where Khizanishvili challenged Heskey in an aerial duel, and the ball came off the head of the Wigan man before nestling in the bottom corner of Chris Kirkland's net.

Staring a fifth straight Premiership defeat in the face, Wigan came out fighting at the beginning of the second half and they might have had a penalty when Heskey's header from a corner struck Brett Emerton on the hand as he manned the near post, but referee Mark Clattenberg failed to spot it.

Henchoz was then denied at the other end in an almighty goal-mouth scramble, but Wigan's reprieve proved only temporary as Derbyshire effectively wrapped up the points in the 58th minute.

Neill's cross to the far post found Pedersen, who cushioned a header into Derbyshire's path, and he gratefully accepted the gift by tapping into an empty net.

The young striker will probably never scored a simpler goal in his career - or a more satisfying one for that matter!

Fittingly, the final word belonged to McCarthy.

With Wigan on their knees, the South African fired in a shot that struck Fitz Hall on the arm, and he didn't need a second invitation to bury his 12th goal of the season from the spot.

So a New Year brings new hope for the second half of the season.

Rovers: BRAD FRIEDEL: 7 BRETT EMERTON: 7 ZURAB KHIZANISHVILI: 7 STEPHANE HENCHOZ: 7 LUCAS NEILL: . 6 DAVID BENTLEY: 7 ROBBIE SAVAGE: 7 AARON MOKOENA: 6 MORTEN GAMST PEDERSEN: 8 SHABANI NONDA: 6 BENNI McCARTHY: 8 Wigan: (4-4-2): Kirkland, Boyce, Hall, De Zeeuw, Baines, Cotterill, Skoko, Landzaat, Kilbane, Heskey, Johansson. Subs: Wright (for Skoko, 46) Not used: Teale, Jackson, Cywka, Pollitt Referee: Mr M Clattenburg 5 Bookings: Wigan; Rovers; Mokoena, Neill, Henchoz, Khizanishvili, Bentley Sendings off: None Attendance: 14,864