Tony Mowbray praised the quality of Daniel Ayala as the Spaniard set Blackburn on their way to a 2-0 win over Hull.
After a cagey opening half, Rovers asserted their authority in devastating fashion with two quickfire goals.
Ayala got the first in the 61st minute with a powerful header against a team where he spent time on loan early in his career, his second goal of the season, before Ben Brereton Diaz’s sumptuous curling effort doubled the lead four minutes later.
Rovers can reflect on an encouraging start to the season after one defeat in seven and Mowbray said Ayala’s worth is obvious.
He said: “Longevity will prove whether Danny was the right signing or not. We have to find a way to manage his workload during the week and get him on the pitch on Saturday.
“Danny Ayala doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody in my mind. He’s got promotion twice out of this league and led a Middlesbrough team out of this league. He can do it.
“I played until I was 37 at centre-half. He’s still a boy in centre-half terms and you can see his worth.
“Even though it was the first clean sheet in a while, I think defensively the team have been pretty good this year. I’ve always felt we’ve looked pretty solid and as I said, it’s a very young team.
“It’s not always the centre-half’s fault. I think the team is doing alright and the message from me is keep supporting this group of lads.”
No team has scored fewer goals this season in the Championship than Hull. It is six games without a win or goal but Grant McCann felt his side had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside when Josh Magennis hit the net.
He said: “We’re not getting the rub of the green. We scored a legitimately good goal tonight that the linesman has ruled offside. How he can rule that offside when Josh is behind the ball is beyond me.
“I thought we were excellent between both boxes tonight, and then a spell where we conceded off a set-play, an individual mistake which is disappointing for us. But Jacob (Greaves) will learn.
“Our general play was good. I thought we controlled most of the game in terms of what we were trying to do and then that spell for 10-15 minutes, Blackburn came strong and we’ve obviously conceded off a set-play. The second was just a sucker punch.
“I was pleased with the boys, they kept going, created opportunity after opportunity. We’re slashing at things at the minute, maybe trying too hard. I’ve never seen as many shots go over the crossbar, especially from players who are usually deadly in those situations.”
