STOICHO Mladenov insisted CSKA Sofia will go into the UEFA Cup clash against Blackburn with nothing to fear as they aim to add another scalp to their growing European collection.

As Rovers prepare to return to Europe after a four-year absence, Graeme Souness's men are clear favourites to progress through to the second round.

But Mladenov is quietly confident his side are equipped to match the giant-killing feats of Swedish part-timers Trelleborg, who eliminated Rovers at a similar stage in the competition eight years ago.

"Blackburn have got some very good players and some very expensive players," said the CSKA chief.

"In fact, the price of only one of their players could probably buy the whole of my team.

"So we respect them but we will do everything in our power to win the game tonight.

"It would mean a lot to our club to do well in the UEFA Cup but it's not about the financial aspects, it's about the prestige it would bring, as well.

"I've seen Blackburn on a couple of occasions and they have some exceptionally strong players individually.

"They are currently playing very well in the Premiership without getting the results their performances deserve.

"I've seen a couple of their recent games and I was impressed by Duff, the two strikers Cole and Yorke, and Dunn and Thompson in midfield.

"But the fact that some of those players will not be playing tonight will not make a difference.

"That means even more of their team will be unknown to us and every unknown player is full of surprises.

"But we have a strong team, too, and they are going to be two very hard games for both teams."

CSKA already boast an impressive European record which has seen them reach the semi-finals of both the European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in the past.

During that time they have also beaten top sides such as Liverpool, Juventus, Monaco and Ajax.

Ominiously for Rovers, they also go into tonight's game having won all seven of their matches so far this season.

However, Mladenov is not getting carried away by his side's impressive start.

"We have a good European pedigree but this team has only been together two or three months because we've brought in 13 new players this year," said Mladenov.

"Some of them are young and not experienced in European terms but we try to win every game we play in.

"So far, we've been victorious in our games in the UEFA Cup and the Bulgarian Premiership.

"We've won seven out of seven and, hopefully, we can keep it that way.

"We want to win tonight. That's my character and it's the character of my players.

"The UEFA Cup is very important to us and we want to do well in it."

Those sentiments were also echoed by Portugeuse midfielder Joao Brito who is one of the stars of the current team.

"We will go into tonight's game with a lot of respect for Blackburn but we've come here to win and to play as well as possible.

"The Uefa Cup is important to us because it gives us the chance to play in Europe and we want to go as far as we can -- that's all that matters to us.

"We are playing with confidence because we've won seven games out of seven but we also know it's going to be very difficult because Blackburn are a good side with good players.

"So it's all about who performs better on the night.

"The game certainly holds no fears for us because anything is possible in football.

"As far as we are concerned, every game is there to win."

CSKA Sofia in town - pics...