Blackburn boss Mark Hughes gambled on playing with two strikers even after the early dismissal of defender Christopher Samba, and it paid off with a 3-1 home win over struggling Wigan.

Whilst it was a solid team performance, Hughes singled out praise for the front men Roque Santa Cruz and Jason Roberts who not only grabbed the goals that sealed the victory but also for their all-round display.

"Although everybody played well today, I thought the key performances for us was the two guys up front because they occupied four players for us because of their effort and determination to chase things down and that helped us and the guys in the team responded to that, we were good value today.

"I thought the performance of the guys was exceptional, in the end we won it quite comfortably.

"The key thing for us today was the result and we've been able to put a performance in as well, we are very happy with today's proceedings."