IN January, it appeared the least of Blackburn Rovers’ worries was their attack. Somehow, it has now become the most of their worries.

As the days ticked closer to the end of the January transfer window, which for the avoidance of any confusion was actually in February, Rovers looked to have no shortage of options for the relegation battle ahead.

Roque Santa Cruz, a player that several decent clubs across Europe would love to have in their side, was staying but could not even get into the starting line-up.

Add in Benni McCarthy - a striker with an equally respected pedigree - and players with Premier League experience such as Jason Roberts and Matt Derbyshire, and it was a quartet that was the envy of many other sides in the top flight.

It could be argued that Manchester City - the richest club in the world - were no better off in terms of out-and-out goalscorers.

The departure of Derbyshire to Olympiacos was a surprise to many, but it was a loan used to fund the arrival of wide man El-Hadji Diouf. And once Derbyshire had departed there was no coming back - not for this season at least.

Paul Gallagher, too, has been out on loan at Plymouth Argyle all season but had never proved in seven years in Rovers’ first-team squad that he could be a regular goalscorer at Premier League level.

Many will now point to Derbyshire’s exit as a mistake. They may indeed have a point, but we should also remember that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

At the time, Roberts and McCarthy were both scoring goals and Santa Cruz was a rather luxurious substitute, able to come on and change a game when required.

Chances galore were created when all three were used together in the second-half comeback against Bolton.

But, incredibly, Rovers are now two games without even a shot on target. Chris Samba, who has not played up front since his days in the Sedan youth team, led the line on his own at Liverpool.

Much of that is to do with injuries to Roberts and Santa Cruz, and the persistent problems blighting the latter have left some Rovers fans wondering whether the club should have taken Manchester City’s money and darted straight to the bank in January.

Just think of how many of Big Sam’s bargain basement foreigners £20m could have bought - money for three Ciccio Grabbis or, even more excitingly, 40 Oumar Kondes.

But, even allowing for bad luck with injuries, Rovers’ attack still looks far more threadbare than it should.

McCarthy looks a shadow of the player that kick-started Sam Allardyce’s Rovers reign, while Diouf has always lacked the goals to go with his general contribution.

Rovers hope everything will change when Roberts and Santa Cruz return, although the Paraguayan worryingly underwent a minor knee operation last week.

Roberts, too, one should not forget, came in for some criticism in the games before his injury - even though much of it was unfair.

On paper, Rovers have a squad containing considerable talent - undoubtedly superior to the Stoke City squad that secured a 1-0 win on Saturday.

But for much of this season Rovers’ problem has been harnessing that talent on the pitch.

It is a problem that could have serious consequences if it continues for too much longer.