Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce found positives in their FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa.

Despite the loss, Allardyce was delighted with the performance of young defenders Martin Olsson and Phil Jones.

Central defender Jones had the tough task of marking England striker Emile Heskey, and he did his job admirably, keeping the experienced frontman quiet.

Whilst the first half saw Olsson having to defend against both Stewart Downing and Ashley Young, a change in formation in the second saw the Swede's impressive attacking play come to the fore.

"I felt that Martin Olsson and Phil Jones never looked out of place," Allardyce told the Rovers website.

"I was really pleased with them and that gives us hopefully a brighter future looking at young players like that developing and playing at Premier League level.

"They are young men just starting out in their careers and they have shown that they can live at this level.

"So there were some positives out of the game."