IT seems to have happened quite a few times over the years that I've supported Rovers. There's always a good chance that if you lose badly at home to Blackburn you will be parting company with your manager.

So it proved for Glenn Roeder, who from the moment he took over the reins from Graeme Souness at perpetual crisis club Newcastle, seemed destined for such a fate before too long.

You see, a big' club shouldn't by rights be not only beaten but humiliated by the type of team from which they habitually poach managers and star players.

Rovers perfectly demonstrated to 50,000 Geordies the difference between a well-managed progressive club and a shambolic, often farcical, outfit.

Could Alan Shearer now be the man to do a Keano' and be persuaded to try and sort out the mess? We'll see, but much as I revere what he did for Rovers, I wonder if even Alan can succeed while Freddy Shepherd remains at the helm.

That third win on the bounce, coupled with other favourable results, keeps open our outside chance of qualification for a UEFA Cup place.

Thursday's game at Tottenham still matters therefore for both sides. Sky will be pleased as it's the 1000th game shown (the first being Liverpool v Notts Forest in 1992). It's still far more likely, however, that our return to Europe, if indeed we make it, will be by the more circuitous route via the Intertoto Cup. (I'm afraid we don't come into the reckoning through the fair play league despite losing Robbie Savage halfway through the season!) My understanding is that there could possibly be two entrants from England if other nations don't take up their place and if Everton, Bolton and Tottenham qualify for the Uefa Cup anyway, our only competition' is Middlesborough and Newcastle, neither of which can now catch us.

Neither Reading, nor Portsmouth, have applied. Nor have Aston Villa, the only side who could deprive us of at least 10th place.

By my reckoning, the only scenario that would deny us our Intertoto place would be Portsmouth edging Bolton or Spurs out of a UEFA place.

In the unlikely event of Tottenham beating us on Thursday (with Benni McCarthy in red hot form!), it may be some consolation therefore if it means they will keep out Pompey. Now is that all clear?

Like a good many Rovers fans, I was disappointed that Preston didn't make it to the play-offs and claim a chance of promotion. Their end-of-season choke reminded me so much of what became known as "Rovers' annual fight against promotion".

Proud Preston have suffered play-off misery for the last two seasons and while I don't think there's probably a bigger disappointment in football as losing in a play-off final, the fans would still much rather have been in the hat to play for what's now become a £60 million jackpot called the Premiership.

With huge sums in prize money and generous parachute payments, we're likely to see far more of the yo-yo effect of relegated clubs coming straight back up. If West Brom prevail in the play-offs, we will see the return of the three relegated clubs from last season.

While I suppose that's reassuring for Rovers and other clubs already at the top table, it does smack of anti-competitiveness and I see it as being bad for the game in the long run.