But Souness said: ‘‘We know we have under-achieved this season.

‘‘Of the teams below us we have failed to take any points off Sunderland and Derby and just one from Leicester.

‘‘If we had produced better results we would not have been in the relegation zone for the past two months.

‘‘But all credit to the lads for holding their nerves and digging themselves out of a big hole.

‘‘We knew we were safe before this match and maybe that helped them relax and play some decent stuff.

‘‘The first half was a miserable affair with two sides who looked like they didn’t want to win the match.

‘‘But second half we got more aggressive and took the chances. We still have two games left and aim to get something from both of them.’’

And Souness hinted there would be big money acquisitions soon at Ewood Park, where Dwight Yorke is being tipped to arrive and reform his Old Trafford partnership with Andy Cole.

Said Souness: ‘‘We will try to buy players who have been at the top level for a number of years, and that kind of player will not come cheap.

‘‘We have some good youngsters coming through, but the players we want to improve ourselves will cost a lot of money.’’

Everton boss David Moyes, whose team saved themselves from the drop a week before Rovers managed it, said: ‘‘When I arrived here, if I had been told we would be safe with two games left, I would have been happy to accept that, and that’s what we were.

‘‘This was a disappointing display, it was a poor performance.

‘‘We just kept giving them ways to get back at us.

‘‘As for the Intertoto Cup, we obviously want to win all our games, and if that means we qualify for that competition, so be it.

‘‘As for the future, I knew the task when I arrived here and nothing I saw against Blackburn changed any of my thoughts. Things don’t look any different to me.’’