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Souness said: "There’s not another Premier League goalkeeper I would swap him for. I tried to sign him when I was at Liverpool, and then did sign him when I was at Galatasaray.
"We won the cup at Galatasaray and he was the difference for us. He was arguably the difference today.
"Apart from having top goalkeeping qualities, he’s an athlete and he has an attitude to sport that’s quite common in America - and he’s a bloody nice fella."
Unfortunatly, Rovers are a disappointing third from bottom of the Premiership but are now in the UEFA Cup... Souness relished winning as an underdog for the first time in his career as player or coach.
He went on to say: "I am absolutely delighted. We came here as everyone’s underdogs, which is a new experience for me, but I can tell you it’s a lovely feeling, it’s a unique feeling.
"I have been very, very fortunate to have won a fair bit but I can tell you this is as sweet as any.
"I felt my team played exceptionally well. I thought we had the better chances, the better of the play."
Rovers took the lead thanks to Jansen only for Christian Ziege to equalise.
Cole’s 69th-minute strike left Rovers hanging on for dear life, meanwhile Spurs were furious that referee Graham Poll turned down claims for a penalty when Teddy Sheringham went down under Nils-Eric Johansson’s challenge.
Souness said: "We rode our luck towards the end and Brad had to make a good save. It was not a penalty, as the referee pointed out to me afterwards. We have not had a great deal of luck this year and I hope this is a turning point."
Mark Hughes, the 38-year-old Wales manager who played the anchor role in Blackburn’s midfield, was pushed forward to receive the first winner’s medal.
"In training, Mark Hughes is absolutely minging - and we all know what that means - and never puts two passes together," Said Souness...
"He was the absolute opposite today. The chances are he will never play in another cup final. Brad deserved to be man of the match but Mark Hughes was a close second."