REVITALISED midfielder Brett Emerton today said he feels like a different player under new boss Mark Hughes.

There were times last season when Blackburn Rovers' Australian winger looked bereft of confidence as he struggled to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League.

However, Hughes' arrival at Ewood Park has coincided with the return to form of a player who was attracting the attention of Europe's biggest clubs before Graeme Souness stepped in to sign him 18 months ago.

And Emerton himself is quick to put the sudden transformation down to the new manager and his coaching staff, who have instilled a new belief in the entire squad during the short time they have been in charge.

"I'm starting to feel more confident," said Emerton, who was one of the star's of last week's 2-0 victory at Fulham.

"Since the new manager has come in, I think I've done quite well and I'm happy with the way things are going at the moment.

"The manager has told me to get the ball and drive forward and do what I'm good at, which is running at players.

"That's what I've tried to do in recent weeks and it seems to be working well.

"I'm definitely performing at a more consistent level than I was before.

"At the start of the season, that's what I said I wanted to do because last year I had some good games and some poor ones.

"But, right now, I feel as though I'm performing more consistently."

Rovers' and Emerton's new sense of confidence will be put to the test again tomorrow when Tottenham Hotspur visit Ewood for another game in front of the Sky TV cameras.

Last week's impressive demolition of Fulham might well have

seen Rovers climb out of the bottom three but Emerton knows it's time he and his team-mates started performing at Ewood, especially as three of the next four games are at home.

"It's a big opportunity for us to really kick on," said the Aussie.

"If we beat Tottenham tomorrow then it could really turn our season around because we've got a good run of games coming up.

"You can see the difference winning at Fulham has made in training this week.

"Suddenly, everyone is buzzing and full of confidence so we're looking forward to playing Spurs and putting in another good performance.

"That win at Fulham was a long time coming. We've been struggling to win games for quite a while now so it was a big relief to finally get three points after four draws in succession.

"Psychologically, that could be huge for us.

"Football is all about confidence and I think you can start to see the confidence growing in the team."

If Rovers are on the up at the moment, then Spurs are experiencing opposite emotions.

Wednesday night's Carling Cup defeat at the hands of a Liverpool reserve side was the latest in a long line of set-backs for the ailing London club.

Former French boss Jacques Santini quit as manager last month, citing interference at boardroom level as the reason for his sudden departure.

That prompted the installation of Martin Jol as his successor, the Dutchman becoming Tottenham's sixth manager in seven years.

On top of that, Spurs have taken just three points out of a possible 21 in the Premiership, with last week's 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough halting a depressing sequence of six straight league defeats.

However, Jol and his director of football Frank Arnesen have worked wonders in the past, albeit in the Dutch League at a time when Emerton was plying his trade with Feyenoord.

"I know of them but I don't know too much about them, other than they had good reputations in Dutch football," said the Rovers star.

In the meantime, Emerton has pledged his future to Rovers in the wake of stories linking him with a January move to White Hart Lane.

Jol is thought to be on the look out for two wide-men in the transfer window and Emerton was said to be high on his list of targets.

However, Emerton added: "I haven't seen those stories, to be honest, but I'm very happy here and I'm happy with the way things are going in the team at the moment, so I'm not looking to go anywhere."