I once did a summer job at the now long gone Prestige factory in Blackburn.

I was a spot welder with spots. I seem to recall their best selling product was a pressure cooker, which in the days before microwave ovens was the only way of cooking a meal quickly.

It had a little valve on the top that would spin round and you could loosen it to release a massive build up of steam.

In fact, if the pressure wasn’t released you risked the whole thing taking off like the tardis.

The situation at Blackburn Rovers Football Club in the last week has been like a pressure cooker and thank goodness the 2-0 victory over Fulham last sunday allowed some of the steam to escape.

After a week of unsubstantiated rumours of dressing room bust-ups, reports that Big Sam could be going the same way as the ice and snow and a disappointing reverse in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final, anything other than a victory would have raised the heat in the Rovers kitchen to boiling point and possibly beyond.

In truth it was not by any means a great performance and Fulham, who played the neat passing game that Roy Hodgson has become known and admired for, would feel themselves unfortunate not to have come away with at least a point.

Sam at last listened to the clamour of the fans to start with two strikers, although not necessarily the two that most supporters would have opted for.

Nikola Kalinic had to play after his encouraging form in the home game against Villa, but many fans though Sam might partner Franco Di Santo with him.

Personally, I thought Benni McCarthy had his best game for a long time but it became clear to me in the post-match post-mortem in the pub that not everyone is as much of a fan of our cuddly South African striker as I am and many still regard him as a “luxury”.

Well, I like a bit of luxury now and again especially when the general fare served up is distinctly low budget. I’m prepared to put up with the odd flick or feint that doesn’t come off for one or two moments of pure skill, which is what Benni is capable of delivering, although we’d all like to see him do it more consistently.

Three points against Fulham, who let us not forget had a 3-0 victory against not only Rovers but also Manchester United within the last six weeks, could prove as much a turning point as our away victory at Craven cottage last season. Let’s hope so.

Tomorrow’s cup game against Villa is one where at 1-0 down we should throw caution to the wind (not a regular phrase in the Allardyce vocabulary I suspect) and attack from the outset.

Even if we miss out on a trip to Wembley, and if we’re honest the odds are stacked against us, we must demand a better performance than that meek surrender against Manchester City.

Sam should stick with two strikers and continue to find a place at least for part of the game for the youthful exuberance and pace of Martin Olsson and Junior Hoilett.

We can beat Villa at their own game. They are blessed with pace but are no world beaters and an early Rovers goal would make things very interesting.

In front of millions of armchair viewers wouldn’t it be great if we could put on a show and banish some of the pre-conceived ideas about Blackburn being a long ball, percentage football outfit?

Hold on, isn’t that exactly what we are?

So now’s your chance Sam. Confuse everyone by playing a madly attacking formation, banning long throws and free kicks from Robbo, and let’s at least entertain the neutrals among the BBC audience.

We can all agree to set aside the pressure cooker for this one game, and hope that our team can serve up a perfectly cooked a la carte feast of football that will confound our critics and secure us that weekend trip to Wembley.