Football: A turn for the better - Kevin Gallacher - A Rover finely tuned by the Hodgson factor

Milestones of '97: From the big server with a big future to the uneasy rider who nearly fell to earth

Kevin Gallacher had expected the workmen to have finished the extension to his house by Christmas. The fact that he will be ploughing through the mud in his wellies for a few more weeks is nothing more than a minor irritation for the Blackburn Rovers and Scotland striker.

It is, though, a reflection on his year that this has been just about the lowest point in an otherwise exhilarating 12 months. Similarly, the other extension that has recently materialised for Gallacher, another year on his contract with Blackburn, is an indication of the 31-year-old's sustained worth. For when he has swapped wellington boots for shooting boots, he has made convincing strides on the path towards peak performance.

At this stage last season, Blackburn were very much on course for a Premiership exit. Post-Shearer depression was proving a difficult condition to cure. Gallacher himself was still in rehabilitation following a broken leg the previous season. Before Christmas, he had scored just three goals and the form of the side did little to promise an imminent reversal of fortunes. A year on, he has rarely looked sharper, a perfect foil for his partner Chris Sutton in Roy Hodgson's revitalised outfit.

When Gallacher was sacrificed in the 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford to accommodate a tactical experiment, Sutton was like a little boy lost without the mischief- making of his partner. "Tony Parkes brought a smile back to players' faces and that carried us through until Easter when we all knew we were reasonably safe. Maybe at the beginning of 1997 I was still trying to find my feet again," Gallacher said.

In the second half of last season, Gallacher was an ever- present and added seven more goals including his first Premiership hat- trick against Wimbledon. As importantly, he was playing an increasingly pivotal role in Scotland's march towards World Cup qualification.

The cutting edge of fitness essential for every striker had been fully sharpened. The simultaneous arrival at Ewood Park of Hodgson and a specialist Italian fitness coach was no coincidence. "It took a good year and a half of being back playing games to get fully fit again. Now I think we have got an edge on teams that we wouldn't have had during the championship season. We are a lot stronger in the last 15 minutes and not hanging on for results. Now we are pushing on sides to win games," he explained.

The former Coventry player is conscious of the role played by Hodgson in his revitalisation: "It's like you are learning all over again. We are not now having 10 shots and hitting the target twice in training, we are having five shots and hitting the target five times. It's all about quality, not quantity."

The fruits of revised training ground labour are there for all to see. Gallacher not so much hit the target against Arsenal at Highbury as smacked the North Bank full in the face with an impromptu volley. His equally meaty effort against Austria earlier in the year was proof that club form and attitude have made a smooth transition on to the international stage. Nine Premiership goals are likely to have cemented Gallacher in Craig Brown's plans for France.