BLACKBURN Rovers manager Mark Hughes believes his side must win at least THREE of their four remaining matches to stand any chance of pipping Aston Villa to a place in the Intertoto Cup.

Rovers are currently ninth in the Premier League table and trail seventh-placed Villa by four points as the season builds towards an exciting climax.

And with Villa also boasting a superior goal difference, Hughes believes Rovers must accrue a minimum of 60 points to overhaul their Midlands rivals in the scramble for Europe.

But while the Ewood chief accepts that is a tall order, given the difficulty of Rovers' remaining fixtures, he is still backing his players to take the race to wire.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow's clash with the champions-elect, Manchester United, an upbeat Hughes said: "There's a lot of issues still to be addressed, not only for United but for us as well.

"We are still in the mix for a European place, and it's great that we are still competing for something with four games to go.

"If we are honest with ourselves we probably need three wins, which is going to be quite difficult given the fact we've still got Portsmouth away, Birmingham away, and Derby at home.

"But it's not beyond us because we've gone up against these teams before and we know we have the capability to get three wins.

"I'd like to think we can get something this weekend as well.

"Four games and three wins is a big ask and whether one comes at the weekend (against United) or in the remaining fixtures that we have left, we don't mind.

"We probably need to hit 60 points, if we can, to give ourselves a realistic chance of qualifying."