Graphic: tactical analysis - Sam's nod to his past

If conclusive evidence were needed that Blackburn Rovers’ players had stopped performing for Paul Ince, it came inside half an hour at Ewood Park on Saturday when, with a new manager at the helm, Stoke City were swatted aside with minimum fuss and maximum effort.

It is common for teams to be instantly galvanised by a new arrival in the dugout, but the manner of victory said less about Sam Allardyce, however encouraging a first game in charge this was for the former Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United manager, and more about the extent to which Blackburn’s players had raised the white flag under Ince.

Jason Roberts, the Blackburn forward, was asked to explain the transformation from lost cause to a team very much with a cause, one that had plumbed new depths of awfulness away to Wigan Athletic the previous weekend, en route to a sixth successive defeat in the Barclays Premier League, to one that played with poise and purpose against Stoke. The clues were in what he did not say.

“I’m wary of saying anything because I don’t want to be seen to be saying negative things about the past manager,” Roberts said. “I thought he was a nice guy.” Talk about damning someone with faint praise.

One of the features of Allardyce’s regime at Bolton, despite the myriad differing personalities and nationalities there, was the unity in the camp and he seems intent on ensuring that bond is replicated down the road at Blackburn.

Perhaps mindful of the rumours of dressing-room unrest under Ince, Allardyce asked the players to meet in a hotel for a get-together before the match and the call to arms appeared to do the trick. A first league win since September 27 and a first clean sheet for just over two months were not bad for starters, although there were other positives, too, not least the partnership forged by Roberts and Benni McCarthy up front.

Allardyce revealed that McCarthy would not have started the game had Roque Santa Cruz not pulled out on the day of the game with a calf problem, but with the Paraguay striker seemingly on his way when the transfer window opens in ten days, McCarthy’s return to form could not be better timed.

McCarthy, 31, is the kind of forward that Allardyce would have signed when he was at Bolton – a player with a big reputation and proven pedigree who occasionally needs an arm around his shoulder.

Ince did not appear to know how to handle the South Africa striker but one senses that Allardyce will. “Benni is a wonderful talent,” Allardyce said.

“I hope I can continue to drag that amount of quality out of him from now until the end of the season.”

Allardyce said that he would address the Santa Cruz situation “professionally and quickly” after the forward reiterated his desire to leave Blackburn in two separate interviews on the eve of the game, but Roberts believes that they would have the fire-power to cope in the event that Santa Cruz leaves for Manchester City.

“I think any team would miss Roque , you saw what he did last season,” Roberts said. “But we have got good players all over the park so if it was the case [that he leaves] the manager would do what he can.”

McCarthy scored twice in the first 27 minutes, either side of Roberts taking full advantage of a mistake by Ryan Shawcross. Both players could have had hat-tricks.

It is unlikely to get any easier for Stoke, who face Manchester United, the English, European and world champions, next. Blackburn, on the other hand, travel to Sunderland, who chose not to appoint Allardyce as Roy Keane’s successor. Suffice to say it will not just be Blackburn’s players looking to prove another point at the Stadium of Light on Friday.

Blackburn Rovers (4-4-2): P Robinson 6 – A Ooijer 6, C Samba 6, R Nelsen 7, S Warnock 6 – B Emerton 6 (sub: D Simpson, 85min), K Andrews 6, D Dunn 7 (sub: Tugay Kerimoglu, 70 6), M G Pedersen 7 – B McCarthy 8 (sub: M Derbyshire, 79), J Roberts 7. Substitutes not used: J Brown, Z Khizanishvili, A Mokoena, A Judge. Next: Sunderland (a).

Stoke City (4-4-2): S Simonsen 7 – I Sonko 4, R Shawcross 5, Abdoulaye Faye 5, D Higginbotham 5 – R Delap 5 (sub: T Soares, 59 5), Amdy Faye 5 (sub: S Olofinjana, 75), G Whelan 6, R Cresswell 5 – R Fuller 5, V Péricard 5 (sub: M Tonge, 59 5). Substitutes not used: T Sorensen, D Pugh, A Davies, A Wilkinson. Booked: Amdy Faye, Cresswell. Next: Manchester United (h).

Referee P Walton Attendance 23,004