VETERAN defender Henning Berg believes victory at The Hawthorns this week could turn out to be the perfect dress rehearsal for tomorrow's UEFA Cup clash with CSKA Sofia.

Berg and his Ewood Park team-mates jetted out to Bulgaria this morning knowing they must score in the Bulgarska Armia to avoid another embarrassing first round exit.

But the 33-year-old Norwegian is confident Rovers have what it takes to pull off the result they require after being heartened by the performance against Albion.

"When we played them in the first leg we saw that they were a good hard-working side who had a lively striker up front who causes you problems with his pace," he said.

"All the Sofia players work very hard and we know we have got a tough night ahead of us because the score is 1-1 and so we have to score a goal."

Rovers certainly struck upon a winning formula at the Hawthorns where visiting teams have found goals hard to come by during the last 18 months.

Dwight Yorke and Damien Duff both breached Gary Megson's Scrouge-like defence during a tense second half prompting Berg to predict Rovers can repeat the trick again in Bulgaria, even though they must contend without the striking talents of Yorke.

And he is backing his fellow Norwegian Egil Ostenstad as the man to deliver the goods if called upon by manager Graeme Souness to lead the line again up front.

"Dwight will be out but Egil has come in for the last two games and he's done well," he claimed.

"I thought he was fantastic against Leeds and this match might give him another chance to show the manager what he can do.

"He had a difficult role as a lone striker but on Monday night he got a couple of half chances. I am sure he can do another good job."

Berg also believes full-backs Martin Taylor and Lucas Neill will rise to the occasion if they continue on the right and the left respectively.

Neither player would necessarily choose those roles as their favoured positions but Berg claimed: "They are both good footballers with great ability and so they can play there.

"Lucas has gone to playing at left back and he looks so comfortable it is like he has never done anything else.

"And as for Tiny, he's a big man but he's got very good skill. He goes skipping down the right and banging in crosses and it is good to see."

Every player will have to be on his game and Berg knows what it takes to make an impact in Europe.

He featured in Rovers' miserable Champions League campaign seven seasons ago before having happier experiences on the continent during his time as a Manchester United player.

So he knows what a big boost a run in Europe can be for the club's players, the fans and the town and he is hoping that the momentum from the current unbeaten run and two successive wins will see their interest extended into the next round.

"We scored two vital goals on Monday night to win two games in a row, both with a clean sheet, but we all think that we have played well most of the season," he said.

"We should definitely have got more points from the play we have had but things are going in the right direction now.

"It would be great to have a good run in the UEFA Cup because it is special for the fans and it is special for the club.

"I would love us to be in the draw with the rest of the big clubs at the time when the third placed teams in the Champions League groups join the competition later and there are already some very, very good teams.

"Playing in Europe can put a place like Blackburn on the map so it can be very good for the town.

"I can remember what happened when we won the Premier League, suddenly people had heard of Blackburn who had never heard of it before."

If Rovers are to become a name again across Europe then they have to KO CSKA tonight and not squander the opportunity they earned with their memorable Worthington Cup triumph over Spurs.