REJUVENATED striker Jonathan Stead has sets his sights on FA Cup glory following his goalscoring exploits against Everton at the weekend.

Stead scored his first goal in 10 months at Goodison Park to earn Rovers a richly deserved 1-0 win, and his return to form could not have been timed any better with Rovers set to face Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter finals on Sunday.

Rovers have never lost when Stead has scored in the past and the 21-year-old is hoping he can keep that streak going between now and the end of the season.

Sunday's game against the Foxes marks the beginning of a crucial period for Rovers, with tough games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United to follow in the Premiership over the next few weeks, and Stead hopes to be involved in all of them after finally ending his goal drought.

"There's some fantastic games coming up and there's nothing better than going into those games with a fresh lease of life and some extra confidence," said the England Under 21 international.

"These are the kind of games you dream of playing in and want to be involved in so I'm definitely not going to sit back and let someone else take the shirt off me now.

"I've got to earn the right to play and I can do that by scoring goals."

Stead admitted he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he saw the ball hit the back of the net in the 71st minute of Sunday's game on Merseyside.

That was only his second senior goal since he scored the winner in the same fixture last season and his sense of relief was shared by the rest of his team-mates.

Stead said: "The lads have known how hard it has been for me this season and to see their reaction on Sunday showed how much of a team we are.

"We all get behind each other and there's a really tight bond there.

"It has been tough but there's a lot of people worse off in the world.

"I've been thinking about my game (over the last few months) and the way things have gone.

"I wouldn't say it's gone wrong for me because I'm still playing in the Premier League and I'm delighted with that.

"It's a massive step from where I was this time two years ago so I've not thought about where it's gone wrong, I've thought about where it's not gone quite as well as it should have done, and where I can improve things."