JUSSI Jaaskelainen gave a glowing testimonial to Florent Laville today when he dedicated his seventh clean sheet of the season to the Frenchman and his fellow defenders.

The Reebok keeper claimed his third shutout in a row as Wanderers cruised to victory over Manchester City at the Reebok to move to within six points of their survival target.

But he deflected the praise, insisting: "You have to give credit to the players in front of me - especially Florent Laville. He's come in and been absolutely superb. He plays it simple, keeps it tight and has been brilliant.

"We struggled for clean sheets earlier in the season but now we've got three in a row, which makes seven - the same as last season - and that gives us confidence. We just have to keep that going in the next six games."

While Jay-Jay Okocha stole the derby show with a virtuoso performance, delighting the crowd with his breathtaking skill and tantalising trickery, Laville enhanced his growing reputation with another impressively-solid, no-frills performance - his fifth since joining Wanderers on loan from French club Lyon.

Together with Gudni Bergsson and Bruno N'Gotty, he survived a shaky start in which Jaaskelainen had to make a crucial save from Nicolas Anelka and never put a foot wrong, picking off the City attackers with ease.

There were highlights when he had the crowd on their feet, stopping Robbie Fowler and Shaun Wright-Phillips in their tracks as City tried in vain to play their way into contention in the second half. But where Laville - "The Rock of Lyon" - impresses most is with the simple, unspectacular way he goes about his defensive duties.

Sam Allardyce, who had not seen the 29-year-old centre-back before he signed him on loan just minutes before the transfer window closed in January, has hailed the former Lyon captain as the key to the upturn in form and results that have taken Wanderers four points clear of the relegation zone.

Delighted with the clean sheet, the manager said: "It pleased me more than anyone else in the stadium because everybody else would look to Jay-Jay Okocha and his response after missing the penalty and his wonderful performance, which it was, without any question of a doubt.

"But the old experienced eyes saw that he (Laville) was there for us at the back from start to finish as we snuffed out Anelka and Fowler.

"We never gave them a sniff.

"Three clean sheets is important at any time of the season but putting them together now has given the team confidence in the back four, or back five including the goalkeeper. They know they are a good, solid defensive unit and that has given the people in front of them licence to show their ability. We are marrying the two together now better than we have ever done.

"Florent Laville has been the catalyst of the turnaround of our season."