BLACKBURN Rovers will attempt to save their season tonight in the imposing surroundings of Sunderland's Stadium of Light.

A season which had promised so much is in grave danger of grinding to a halt unless Graeme Souness's side can extend their interest in the FA Cup.

But just where has it all gone wrong after Rovers appeared to be chasing glory on three fronts barely a month ago?

Judging by the flood of calls we've received on the sports desk over the last few days, it would appear the fans put the recent slump in fortunes down to the attitude of the players.

Many were incensed after seeing pictures on TV of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole in the tunnel immediately prior to the Aston Villa game.

But having not seen the TV coverage myself, I wouldn't like to draw any serious conclusions from something seen through the eyes of other people. All I would say is it's very difficult to say whether the team as a whole were putting in the required effort or not when you're on the outside looking in.

Glenn Keeley makes the point in his column today that only the players themselves can really answer that one.

But what I would say in their defence is that Rovers are clearly starting to feel the effects of a crippling fixture list.

Only Manchester and Liverpool have had to play as many games as Graeme Souness's side since the turn of the year and those two clubs have far greater resources to call on than Souness has.

And Rovers have also been plagued by injury problems this season.

In the summer, Souness would have eagerly looked ahead to the current campaign with the intention of building his side around his three most creative players -- Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen.

But the fact is the Rovers boss has spent much of the season having to plan without his three crown jewels and any manager in the country would have missed players of that calibre.

Just as important has been the continued absence of key defenders Henning Berg and Craig Short.

It's no coincidence that Martin Taylor has looked at his best whenever he's played alongside one of the experienced duo but when both are missing Rovers suddenly look naive at the back.

So if this season has taught us anything it's that Rovers are good enough to match anyone on any given day when the manager has a fully fit squad to choose from.

But all it takes is a couple of injuries to upset the whole apple-cart because Souness ultimately doesn't have the strength in depth to push for the top six yet.

So the FA Cup represents a more realistic chance of glory at this moment in time. Win four games and you can suddenly find yourself at Cardiff. Now, what an end to the season that would be.