We can go all the way

The 21-year-old forward, who scored his first goal of the campaign in the 1-0 win against Everton last week, has now got his sights trained on Leicester City, who visit Ewood Park on Sunday for a mouth-watering quarter final tie.

Stead had never been beyond the first round of the famous old competition before this season but now he's hoping to fire the goals that could see Rovers reach their first final in 45 years.

Rovers boss Mark Hughes and his players will not underestimate the challenge that Leicester are likely to present this weekend, even though they start the tie as the clear favourites to go through.

However, there is a quiet confidence in the Rovers camp going into the game and Stead insists his team-mates have no reason to fear anyone after becoming one of the toughest sides to beat in the Premiership under Hughes.

"There's no reason why we can't go all the way," said Stead, who was part of the Huddersfield side that suffered an embarrassing first round exit at the hands of Accrington Stanley last season.

"Some big teams have already gone out and I'm sure there will be a few more falling before the final, so there's definitely an opportunity for us to get a trophy.

"This is the furthest I've ever been in the competition so I'm hoping I can make something happen for the club.

"It's been a disappointing season for us so far, so to have a decent run in the Cup is massive for us, and massive for the fans as well."

Stead could hardly have timed his return to form any better as Rovers gear up for their biggest game of the season and he looks certain to start up front alongside Paul Dickov.

Hughes is also hoping to have Dominic Matteo back in contention for a place in his squad, although the Scot may have to be content with a place on the bench.

The former Liverpool and Leeds defender has not figured since the 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough last month but he has now made a full recovery from knee and calf injuries respectively.

"It's been a frustrating few weeks but hopefully I can now look forward to a trouble free time," said Matteo.

Fans are reminded the ticket office will be open from 9am until 4pm tomorrow for those who haven't already got their tickets for the tie.

Meanwhile, Rovers and Chelsea have been fined by the Football Association over the brawl which marred the end of their Barclays Premiership clash on February 2.

Claude Makelele sparked the trouble towards the end of Chelsea's 1-0 win when he pushed over Morten Gamst Pedersen and players from both sides became involved in an ugly confrontation.

Rovers later admitted to a charge of failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion, but the Blues denied a similar charge.

Rovers were yesterday given a £10,000 fine and a warning as to their future conduct, while Chelsea received a similar warning and were fined £15,000 by the FA's disciplinary commission.

In the meantime, Rovers duo Jonathon Douglas and Jay McEveley have signed for Gillingham on one month loan deals, as we revealed in our later editions last night.

Former Burnley boss Stan Ternent, who is now in charge of the relegation-threatened Gills, swooped to sign the pair yesterday.

Rovers' Premiership clash with Liverpool at Anfield next Wednesday will now be screened live on Sky TV.

The game should originally have taken place a fortnight ago but it got rearranged due to Liverpool's involvement in the Carling Cup final.