NEW Blackburn Rovers skipper Barry Ferguson is backing Paul Dickov to be a big success at Ewood next season.

Ferguson knows Dickov from their time together with Scotland and he firmly believes Graeme Souness has got himself a bargain in the former Leicester City striker, who joined Rovers for a knockdown £150,000 fee earlier in the summer.

"I think Paul Dickov is a great signing for us, especially when you consider how little we paid for him," said Ferguson.

"To score 14 goals in a struggling team like he did last season was unbelievable.

"He's a goalscorer who'll give you everything he's got. He'll give you 110 per cent in every game and if you were to ask most centre-backs who's the most awkward player to play against I'm sure they'd say Paul Dickov.

"He's that type of player, he's busy and he's always buzzing around."

Dickov became the most wanted man in the Premiership at the start of the summer when clubs learned of the release clause in his contract following Leicester's relegation to the Nationwide League.

Eight different clubs tried to sign the 31-year-old before Rovers finally won the chase and Ferguson wasn't surprised to see how much interest his international team-mate attracted.

"I think Paul Dickov is vastly underrated," said Ferguson.

"Just look at the clubs he's played for - Arsenal and Manchester City. They are both big clubs and, obviously, he was Leicester's best player last season.

"I've played with him and known him for years through the Scotland set-up and he'll be good for the dressing room as well."

Dickov's signing takes the number of senior strikers on Rovers' books to six, which means Graeme Souness has now scrapped plans to sign Everton's Tomasz Radzinski, despite weekend speculation to the contrary.

In the meantime, Ferguson is expected to start pre-season training today after six months out with a serious knee injury.

The rest of the first team squad are due to return next week.