SAM Allardyce might not have the resources of Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger but he is proving to be just as adept as his esteemed Premiership rivals when it comes to squad rotation.

Big Sam rang the changes for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Doncaster - just as he did at Watford at the same stage last season and at Ipswich the year before - and once again got the balance just right.

A potentially tricky tie was won 4-0 with consummate ease, proving that while he might not have quite the same strength in depth as his Chelsea or Arsenal counterparts, the Bolton boss has more than enough quality and knowhow to cope with threats from the lower divisions.

Doncaster were outclassed and outperformed but it was the attitude of the players in his team that showed seven changes to the side beaten at Liverpool on New Year's Day that gave Allardyce his greatest satisfaction.

"We put Doncaster to bed and showed the qualities that we've got and the reason why we play in the Premiership," he said, summing up the gulf in class.

Changes were always on the cards. It was just a question of how many. With Ivan Campo suspended and Henrik Pedersen struggling with a calf injury, the manager's hand was forced to a certain degree.

And, although Jussi Jaaskelainen was the only player to be specifically rested, as he is accustomed to being in the early rounds of the cup competitions, Allardyce took the opportunity to give Kevin Nolan, El-Hadji Diouf and Tal Ben Haim a break to recover from minor ailments. Gary Speed and Nicolas Anelka started on the subs' bench as an insurance policy.

But the result was never in any serious doubt after Kevin Davies had opened the scoring in the eighth minute with his fifth of the season and Ian Walker had denied Doncaster top scorer Paul Heffernan with a sensational save four minutes later.

Walker wasn't the only fringe player to prosper. Andranik, drafted in for only his third start, stole the show with two goals, Idan Tal impressed and worked hard to claim his first goal in a Bolton shirt and Quinton Fortune, beleaguered by injuries since his summer move from Manchester United, held things together in midfield before being withdrawn as a precaution, just after the fourth goal went in.

There is no doubt that, had Wanderers been playing a Premiership game, the team would have been much different, but they still had eight full internationals in their starting line-up - Kevin Davies, Nicky Hunt and Ricardo Vaz Te the only uncapped players.

"We left players behind who had played four games in 10 days and had knocks and bruises but we still put on a great show," Allardyce said.

"It's worked very nicely. I don't think I've got any injury problems at all, which is pleasing, and young Andranik, for the first time, has shown what he can do.

"It was nice to see Idan Tal controlling midfield and good to have Quinton Fortune back from injury and playing his first game for a few weeks.

"The quality of the through balls, the quality of the runs that were made and the quality of the finishing was fabulous.

"Ian Walker's save was crucial because it was only one-nil and a goal then would have lifted their crowd and their players. Of course goalkeepers contribute to results just as much as goalscorers.

"But really we were comfortable from the start right the way through to the end. It was a terrific attitude the players showed to go there and play a very difficult tie and win it so comfortably."