Blackburn Rovers boss Mark Hughes is excited by the firepower his squad now possess.

When you add the signings of strikers Roque Santa Cruz and Maceo Rigters to existing front men Benni McCarthy, Jason Roberts and Matt Derbyshire - plus the service offered by widemen Morten Gamst Pedersen and David Bentley - and it is no wonder the Welshman is feeling confident.

Hughes said: "All strikers who come here score goals and we're convinced that Roque will as well.

"We have great quality in wide areas. If we can continue to produce quality balls into the box, then the strikers will benefit.

"Benni and the other strikers benefited last year from the work of Morten and David and we hope Roque's going to.

"Roque comes here with a point to prove because people are questioning him before he's even kicked a ball - but I think he'll prove everyone wrong.

"The squad has been excited by his arrival and hopefully that will have a positive effect on us."

And Hughes has no problem with fans setting their sights high.

He said: "If we can have a decent run without injuries then we'd hope to do as well if not better than the last two years.

"We'll be going for Europe again - we proved two years ago it's possible so why can't we do it again?"