GRAEME Souness has warned Jonathan Stead his biggest test is yet to come.

Rookie Blackburn striker Stead capped a remarkable few weeks by making his England U21 debut in midweek and laying on the winning goal for Darren Bent.

Stead is still walking on air after finding the target twice in his first two games for Rovers since making the £1.25m move from Third Division Huddersfield earlier this month.

But Blackburn boss Souness insists Stead will be judged on his long term record and not his incredible honeymoon spell for club and country.

Souness said: "In three weeks Jonathan has come a long way, but he has not done anything in the game yet.

"He is a young man who has the potential to be a very good footballer, but the real test for Jonathan won't be when he stops scoring - it will be in five years time.

"If he is still in the Premiership and scoring goals, he will be considered a good player then.

"People talk about great players too readily these days. I played with great players who did it over ten years consistently, not someone who scored a couple of goals in a couple of games in the Premiership.

"The real big test for Jonathan won't come if he doesn't score again between now and the end of the season.

"He will be judged, in my opinion, over the next five years and if he scores his regular dozen to fifteen goals a season over that time."

Souness expects the 20-year-old hitman to hit a lean spell in front of goal sooner, rather than later.

But he is not concerned how the youngster handles any worrying goal drought that may come his way.

He added: "Part of the deal of being a striker is that you are going to go through periods when you don't score.

"But that won't bother him in the slightest. He is a very focused young man and he will be fine.

"Jonathan has given us something we've not had this year. I'm sure he is loving his football right now because only three weeks ago he was playing Third Division football.

"Right now he will have a big head after playing for playing in the Premier League and playing for England

"But he's a level headed lad and I'm sure we can knock that big head out of him!

"People can handle publicity differently and it's part of a manager's job, with the staff I have around me, to make sure that any young player who gets a lot of publicity goes down the right road and keeps their feet firmly on the ground.

"But I don't see that being a problem in either Jonathan or Paul Gallagher."