Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce believes it was "miraculous" what he and his squad achieved in escaping relegation last season.

The former Bolton and Newcastle boss was brought in to replace the sacked Paul Ince in mid-December with Rovers struggling next-bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

Ince had presided over a three-month 11-match winless run and the club were five points from safety.

However, Allardyce turned things around and they finished the season 15th, seven points clear of the drop zone.

"I look back at what we achieved and it was pretty miraculous," said the Rovers boss.

"What happened from December until the end of the season was a greater achievement than I originally thought.

"That's based on many things, like the fact that we spent less than anybody else.

"Tottenham threw another £40million at it, Stoke threw another £10million at it, and Hull threw six or seven million at it - while we just got Dioufy (El-Hadji Diouf) for a million and took Gael Givet on loan.

"That, when you reflect on it, shows you how big an achievement it was by everybody."

Allardyce's problems worsened when he lost Brett Emerton, Roque Santa Cruz and David Dunn to season-ending injuries with several matches still remaining.

"That meant the likes of Givet and Dioufy became even more influential than I initially thought they would," the manager told the club's official website, www.rovers.co.uk.

"The rest of the lads who came and stood in also deserve special praise - people like Keith Andrews who in his first season jumping from MK Dons to the Premier League contributed in 33 games and played in different positions.

"The whole team deserve a lot of credit, and that chance to reflect gives us a great deal of confidence going into the new season."

Allardyce has already made four signings this summer, with the most important - a striker to replace Santa Cruz - yet to come.

He tied on-loan Givet to a permanent deal and has also brought in Everton defender Lars Jacobsen, South Africa midfielder Elrio van Heerden and Amiens midfielder Steven N'Zonzi.

Jacobsen's agent Karsten Aabrink said the influence of Allardyce had persuaded the Denmark international to move to Ewood Park.

"Other clubs from a high level were also interested but Lars thinks good things are happening at Blackburn and he wants to be part of that," he said.

"He also knows they have a good manager who is bringing the team together.

"He knows Sam Allardyce is high quality in his work with the defence and he wants to become a better player."