JASON Roberts has vowed to shrug off his injury problems and help propel Blackburn Rovers back into Europe.

The former Wigan Athletic striker, who is on the comeback trail after missing the last seven weeks with a thigh muscle injury, has set his sights on a possible first-team return at Fulham's Craven Cottage next weekend.

And after watching Rovers flourish during his enforced leave of absence, the Grenada international is now more convinced than ever that manager Mark Hughes has assembled a squad capable of competing at the top end of the Premier League table.

The 29-year-old said: "We want to be challenging for Europe this season.

"Our UEFA Cup challenge did not go the way we would have liked, but it is something that the players aspire towards once again, because European football is of great benefit to the club and the players.

"As for the Champions League, someone is going to spring a surprise at some point and we'd like to think at least that we can put ourselves in a position to do that.

"Everyone wants to make a real go of it this season. We are well in the tier just below the top four.

"I think the players we have, and the recent performances, justify that tag and it's been something that we as a group of players have been looking for.

"We believe that we have the players to do it; the club is definitely moving on."

Hughes has spent three years building a squad which he believes is one of the strongest outside of the big four' and, after initially being criticised for adopting what some considered to be an overly physical approach, the Rovers boss is now starting to gain recognition.

Roberts admitted: "It was a process we were going through in order to get to where we are now, and that criticism was part of the process.

"If people watch the way we play now, we are not a hugely physical side, however we won't shy away from that part of the game.

"The boss has done a really good job. He's slowly but surely knitted together a very technical team. I think we now have a squad that a lot of people look at and are quite envious of.

"You look around our squad now and nobody is quite sure who is going to play at any given time because of the depth we have."

He added, in an interview with The Voice: "When I am fit for a length of time, I'll be able to show what I am capable of."