TWO-goal hero Matt Jansen shot down Preston last night in a gripping Lancashire derby and then pledged he wants to stay at Ewood and help restore Rovers into a leading Premiership force.

The England Under 21 international -- who was linked with a move to Spurs and Leicester at the weekend - sparked a first half goal blitz with a deadly double inside the opening 18 minutes.

And, though North End staged a brave second half fightback, Rovers held on to win 3-2 - a result which moved them up to third in the table.

"There have been rumours about other clubs - I don't know what the truth is -- but my main objective is to stay here," said Jansen.

"Things are going well, I'm enjoying it, and I want to get Blackburn back into the Premier League.

"We've got a young squad, which can only be good for Blackburn Rovers, and, if we get back up, then we're going to be a force for the future."

Rovers appeared to be out of sight after stunning North End with a sensational three-goal blast.

But plucky Preston fought back and Rovers fans were once again forced to endure an anxious finale before finally securing three more vital points to turn up the heat on second-placed Bolton.

"We knew they were going to come after us after getting a hard time off their manager at half time so we had to be up for it," said Jansen.

"But they got an early goal and it was backs against the wall after that.

"We played some really good stuff, though, in the first half.

"And I know the gaffer is saying we're looking for second place but, if we keep winning, you never know what could happen to Fulham.

"They could do what Watford did, they've got Chris Coleman out for the rest of the season, so they've got a few problems.

"We've just got to aim to win each game we can and concentrate on our own performances rather than what everyone else is doing."

Manager Graeme Souness hailed Rovers' first half performance as one of the best since he took charge.

But the Ewood chief was disappointed at the way his side let Preston back into the game.

"What turned out to be a thriller should have been an easy game for us," said Souness.

"We played really well for half an hour, we scored three, and should have scored even more.

"But I think people saw the best and worst of us last night.

"Some of our football in the first half was very good, some of it in the second half was very bad.

"Their direct football caused us problems and we've got to learn to deal with that.

"We should be delighted because we've won the three points.

"But what should have been a 5-0 game turned out to be a scrap so that's something we'll be talking about."

Goals from Jon Macken and a David Healy penalty set up a tense finish.

But Souness felt Henning Berg was harshly penalised when the referee pointed to the spot after a clash with Mark Rankine.

"It wasn't a penalty I didn't think," said Souness.

"But these things happen. We'll get penalties over the course of the season that shouldn't be given."