THERE are times when it is a sheer privilege being a Blackburn Rovers supporter.

Anfield '95 and Cardiff 2002 are the obvious examples, but Saturday was another of those occasions.

I shed a tear or two at one point just before the players left the pitch.

Behind me for the first time in living memory the notoriously sedate Jack Walker upper tier had burst into song with a spontaneous chorus of "There's only one Jack Walker."

I was non-plussed by this new-found enthusiasm until I looked up to see pictures of the great man on the big screen apparently applauding the Worthington Cup winners. A moment to savour for ever.

That enthusiasm was mirrored all over the ground with probably the largest home support since the new Ewood was completed.

What a wonderful sight the Darwen End was packed to the rafters with home rather than away support.

The away fans were exactly where they should be to my mind, stuck away in a small section in the top right hand corner of the ground and I can't help thinking what an advantage it would be to the team to have the scenario week in week out.

Wouldn't it also be nice to do to Manchester United as they do unto others next season and say "Sorry lads you can only have 1500 tickets".

While watching football these days is certainly an expensive pastime overall, it is however, surprisingly cheap to take youngsters to the games if you take advantage of junior season tickets. I would therefore urge everyone at the game on Saturday to try and get down on a regular basis next season if at all possible.

A few minutes earlier the team had come up with the result the occasion demanded securing a very respectable top 10 finish in the process.

As far as Andy Cole is concerned the season end could not have come at a worse time.

Six goals in five consecutive Premiership games. A similar run at the start of next season please Andrew and let's see you beat Van Nistlerooy's record for scoring in consecutive games. You can do it.

A couple of days ago the talk had been of the selections for England's World Cup squad. Sheringham's inclusion in the squad ahead of Cole and indeed Jansen can't be justified on any logical basis to my mind. There's a bit of a difference between being out of form and past it.

"Hasn't touched the ball since Christmas" was the most apt description I heard of the veteran Spurs player.

Footballing issues aside for a second, hasn't the balance on this page been so much better during the last couple of weeks in the absence of my Claret oppo?

From Stephen's point of view it's probably just as well the Nationwide League season finished early the way his team performed since Christmas. If it had been a boxing match the referee would have stepped in long ago to save him from further punishment.

I do have one concern though. Even though this column covers the Premiership and appears at the top of the page in the Blackburn edition, I'm slightly worried that it is still not sufficiently distinguished from it's Nationwide counterpart. Maybe a change of name would do the trick - "Tales from the Top Table" perhaps?

Finally and very sadly apart from a look back in an end of season review, this is the final column of the season.

It's been a real privilege writing during this trophy-winning year and if you've enjoyed reading half as much as I've enjoyed writing the job's a good 'un.

Have a great summer and if I can secure an "image rights" deal for my picture on a par with Becks, I'll see you all next season!