THE Premier League can be a handsome tomb for those clubs who come into it unprepared and then miserably perish as a consequence. But this season Stoke have created a template for survival that others might profitably follow in the future.

Apart from Rory Delap’s party piece — the long, arching, slingshot-like throw — there are no frills about them. Instead, there is a clever devotion to the uncomplicated principles of sweat and roll-up-your-sleeves graft, which is both hard-headed and sensible.

Evidence of it was provided again yesterday when a 75th-minute goal from Liam Lawrence, created in traditionally muscular fashion but finished with smart intuition, meant that their manager, Tony Pulis, won’t be approaching the next few weeks with a cold, queasy apprehension in the pit of his stomach. A few of his rivals — Sam Allardyce included — would gratefully trade league positions with him now. As Allardyce walked off with a pained expression across his jowly face, Stoke celebrated as if the title itself was coming to the Britannia stadium.

It certainly didn’t matter to them that the game was more of a ill-tempered skirmish than a test of sublime skill. Craft and subtlety were still on their Easter holiday, apparently.

Considering the high stakes, such a nervy and ragged affair was entirely predictable. When, like Stoke, your principal task is climbing out of a deep hole, you scrape and scramble as best you can, especially when there are no extra marks on offer for aesthetic imagination. Stoke have escaped the gravitational pull of the bottom of the table with a style all of their own — a whip, snap and physical and mental steeliness.

Pulis, however, isn’t satisfied. “We aren’t safe yet,” he insisted afterwards. “We might need more than 40 points.”

Stoke’s over-reliance on Delap’s single trick often made them look unimaginative. And, like a fast bowler given too many overs, he finally lost his length and direction. Someone might helpfully outline the definition of the phrase “shock tactic” to Stoke and explain that it often works best when used sparingly.

Be that as it may, the best save still had to come from Blackburn’s goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, flinging himself with agility and sharp reflexes to turn over an 18-yard volley from Lawrence. When, shortly afterwards, Lawrence got the chance to loom over Robinson again, he accepted the opening calmly. James Beattie won an aerial tussle on the fringe of the box, flicking the ball to Lawrence, who nudged inside Keith Andrews before beating Robinson at the near post.

Blackburn scarcely troubled Thomas Sorensen. In fact, Stoke were almost their own worst enemies. Abdoulaye Faye came carelessly close to planting the ball into his own net after both his sense of awareness and geography went momentarily awry. He tried to head possession back to Sorensen without appreciating that his goalkeeper was almost on his shoulder. Sorensen was sufficiently alert to dart out his right hand and rescue Faye from embarrassment.

This defeat was only Allardyce’s sixth since taking charge. Chatter about alternative histories remains all the rage, which makes it impossible not to debate the two intriguing imponderables about his recent bumpy career path. Poignantly, the two “what if” scenarios about Allardyce have hummed along the grapevine, from Newcastle-under-Lyme to Newcastle upon Tyne.

What if Newcastle hadn’t been crassly impatient in sacking him after just shy of eight months in charge? Well, the obvious conclusion is that St James’ Park wouldn’t now be wreathed in funereal-like gloom and preparing for the real prospect of relegation. And what if Blackburn hadn’t recruited Allardyce to replace Paul Ince? Again, the answer is fairly straightforward. The club, which when he arrived was second from bottom in the table, bereft of self-belief and well adrift of safety, would already be planning for next season’s Championship.

Despite this setback, Blackburn shouldn’t go down. Allardyce believes so and laid down a clear target afterwards: “We have to make sure we win at least three of our last five games,” he said.

Star man:Liam Lawrence (Stoke)

Yellow cards: Stoke:Wilkinson, Faye, Fuller.

Referee:H Webb.

Attendance:27,500.

STOKE:Sorensen 7, Wilkinson 6 (Kelly 50min, 7), Shawcross 7, Faye 7, Higginbotham 7, Lawrence 8, Delap 7, Whelan 7, Etherington 7, Fuller 7 (Sonko 87min), Beattie 7 (Cresswell 87min).
BLACKBURN:Robinson 7, Ooijer 7, Samba 7, Nelsen 7, Givet 7, Andrews 7, Mokoena 7 (Dunn 81min), Warnock 7, Diouf 7, McCarthy 6 (Villanueva 68min) Pedersen 7.