WHAT Paul Sturrock needed going into this game was a win - a nice, steady 2-0 where Saints were solid at the back and scored a couple of neat goals would have done very nicely.

So, incredibly, with fears already surrounding Sturrock's future, it probably didn't do much for his heart rate to see his side edge a 3-2 thriller in such a crucial match.

But no matter how the success came, it was still three points and vital for Sturrock to have got them on the board.

Certainly Luggy seemed more animated than usual on the touchline, but he had a lot to get animated about.

The game really was a belter - partly thanks to a few quality players on either side, but also due to some pretty slack defending from both teams.

Blackburn looked on edge every time they were attacked with a high ball or a cross, while Saints were vulnerable to players running at them.

Michael Svensson's loss has left a hole in the centre of defence as Danny Higginbotham and Claus Lundekvam have struggled to cement their partnership just yet.

But up front, James Beattie was back from his thigh injury and it was perhaps inevitable that it would be he who won, and scored, the decisive penalty.

After all the talk of his possible transfer and him being unsettled, he just may have had Sturrock's future at his feet - but he struck home the penalty to help out his boss.

All you can hope is that this win will lift Saints to grab another three points on Wednesday night, and then the season will take off from there.

Saints need to get better at the back but Sturrock promised more goals when he took over and he is delivering.

One very large tick on Luggy's checklist must also come from what he's done to Fabrice Fernandes.

For so long the Frenchman has been the talent of the team but with little end product. He has also shown little fight when the going gets tough.

But now he's competitive, tracking back, winning headers and tackles and producing in the vital areas.

If he continues in this vein and goes on to realise his full potential, then Sturrock may have pulled off his greatest masterstroke of all.

As for the game, it was a fairly dull affair for the first half hour but when Saints took the lead on 32 minutes the match took off.

Fernandes flighted in a lovely cross from the right where Craig Short and Nils-Eric Johansson were caught chasing the ball. They missed it, but Kevin Phillips didn't and he controlled before clinically finishing.

Saints, having been slightly on the back foot before then, were in control for the rest of the half but two substitutions during the break by Graeme Souness shifted the balance.

On 50 minutes Saints' defensive frailties were exposed for the first time as one of the subs, Paul Dickov, slid in Barry Ferguson, who ran through the middle without a centre half in sight to finish neatly past Antti Niemi.

Then 18 minutes later more poor defending left Dickov on his own at the far post with enough time to control, spin and fire home a half-volley to put Blackburn ahead.

All of a sudden St Mary's was filled with a sense of fear - fear for the result and what that could mean for Sturrock.

But when the boss needed an upbeat note, when he needed his players to come out and perform for him, they did it.

Brad Friedel produced a brilliant finger-tip save from Phillips before Saints drew level on 74 minutes.

Beattie produced some great work on the right to beat Michael Gray and drilled in a low cross which found its way to Fernandes at the far post.

He fed Anders Svensson, who struck across the ball with his right foot from 15 yards to send it curling away from the keeper and into the top corner.

The game started to become more fiery but, boy, was it exciting as both sides went all out for the win.

Niemi had to save from Dickov and Short, Dickov also saw an effort blocked by Beattie, while Andy D'Urso waved away decent Blackburn penalty appeals.

However, he didn't do that when Beattie went down challenging Short for a high ball in injury time - even though it looked dubious.

After the farcical sight of D'Urso booking Ferguson for the second time but not sending him off, Beattie stepped up to the mark.

The personal pressure was there.

The pressure for his team was there.

The pressure for his manager was certainly there.

And he produced.

Perhaps the penalty will be just the break Sturrock needs.