GIANT defender Martin Taylor is psyching himself up for another stern examination of his defensive capabilities tonight as Rovers aim to blunt Baggies strike duo Jason Roberts and Lee Hughes.

Taylor is now an integral part of Graeme Souness's defence after rising to prominence over the last couple of seasons.

And the England Under 21 international plans to enhance his growing reputation with another towering display against Albion's dangermen in what is certain to prove another formidable test of his Premiership mettle.

Taylor knows more than anyone that this season is a big one for him as he strives to establish himself as a regular in the top flight.

From the moment he first burst onto the scene as a teenager in the youth team, big things have always been expected of the cultured centre half.

And now he's got the chance to show he can fulfil that potential in the first team after being granted an extended run in the side.

"This is a massive season for me because I'm no longer a young player anymore," said Taylor.

"As a defender, you are always striving for consistent performances so it helps your game when you play more games and get some consistency going and that can only help to make you a better player.

"I'm happy with the way the season has started, both for me, personally, as well as the team.

"I've played in various different positions so far but everyone around me has got lots of experience at the back so they soon put you right if anything starts to go wrong."

Taylor's versatility is one of his most impressive qualities and already this season he has appeared in a number of positions, including right-back, left-back, centre-forward and his more favoured centre-half.

But, far from becoming unsettled by the disruption all that moving around causes, Taylor insists it has become a valuable part of his overall football education.

"Obviously, I haven't got an awful lot of experience playing at full-back because I've spent most of my career as a centre half but I've got no problem playing anywhere in the team. I'm just happy to be playing at all," said Taylor.

"At full-back you see a lot more of the ball than you do at centre half and the role isn't completely alien to me because I've played there in training.

"So I do enjoy it because it gives you the chance to go forward a bit more but there's a lot of versatility in this squad, generally.

"There's a lot of young players who are used to playing in various different positions as they've come up through the youth system and the gaffer is also not scared to change things around during games, which can sometimes change a match in our favour.

"So it's become a regular part of football these days."

But if Taylor's ability to adapt is not in doubt, the one criticism which is occasionally levelled at him is a lack of aggression.

Souness told the 6ft 4in defender to develop a 'nastier streak' last season after describing him as 'perfect son-in-law material.'

And Taylor has been working hard on trying to shed his gentle giant tag ever since.

"I just go out and play my game and if that comes, then it comes but I hope it does because you have to be physical in the Premier League as you come across a lot of physical players.

"The gaffer tries to wind me up a bit in training now and again to draw that out of me.

"So I just hope I can show myself to be physical enough."

Two such players who revel in the physical side of the game are West Brom strikers Roberts and Hughes who have been recently reunited following Hughes's return from Coventry City.

They pose the biggest threat to Rovers tonight as Albion aim to extend an impressive sequence of results which has catapulted them up the Premiership table.

So how Taylor and his defensive colleagues cope at the back could well hold the key to Rovers' hopes of a second straight win.

"Roberts is a danger. When we last played against them we came up against him then and he's a very good player," said Taylor.

"Both him and Lee Hughes are prolific scorers, they seem to have started quite well, but whoever you play against in the Premiership will cause you problems and West Brom are no different.

"We know quite a lot about them from our First Division days and they seem to be keeping to the same formula as they used last year in terms of getting 1-0 results and defending well.

"So we know what type of game it's going to be.

"Home games are very important for them if they are going to stay up so, from that point of view, it's going to be very tough because I imagine they'll come at us.

"But if we want to stay clear of trouble ourselves then we've got to make sure we take points off teams like them who are likely to be at the bottom."