Blackburn Rovers completed another season in the Premier League by ensuring a top ten finish with an impressive win at Villa Park. Sam Allardyce will be pleased with his seasons work as Rovers were closer to challenging the top of the league than escaping from the bottom at the end.

 

There will be work to be done in the summer as the tenth place will act as a marker for Allardyce and the Ewood Park faithful in terms of expectations for 2010/11. Two successive defeats in the opening outings of this campaign raised early warning bells and when heavy defeats were suffered at the Emirates and Stamford Bridge, there were worries of a long and difficult campaign. However, it was the cups, or rather, the Carling Cup that provided a welcome distraction and possibly inspiration for a recovery in league form.

A good League Cup run included a win against Chelsea on penalties but Aston Villa proved a match for Rovers in both competitions knocking them out of the FA Cup in Round 3 and the Carling Cup in a classic two-leg semi final - 7-4 being the final aggregate score after a 6-4 thriller at Villa Park.

Allardyce will want Rovers to challenge from the off next season and is sure to make changes to the squad to facilitate his aims. Top of the list will be a 20 goal-a-season striker although getting someone into the teens will be an improvement following David Dunn’s 9 league goal haul topping the Rovers scoring chart this season. Nikola Kalinic is perhaps the most likely of the current crop but Allardyce will use the summer break to find a suitable player to fit the bill and with the World Cup on the horizon, don’t bet against a fresh face up front at Ewood next season.