TONY PARKES believes the best is yet to come from striker Martin Dahlin who was a major disappointment last season.

The Swedish striker has been plagued by injury since his £1.6 million move from AC Roma and managed just six league and cup goals in a stop-start debut season.

But Rovers assistant manager says that Dahlin could be the equivalent of buying a new striker if he finds the form that shot him to World Cup stardom in 1994.

Parkes said: "Buying a striker as cover for Chris Sutton and Kevin Gallacher is our main priority during the summer. But if Martin has a good pre-season and keeps clear of injury it could be like buying a new striker after the season he has just had."

Parkes played down rumours that Dahlin is unhappy at the club and he is desperate to succeed under Roy Hodgson.

He added: "I am certain that Martin is happy here and wants to succeed. Naturally he was disappointed with the way things have gone so far because if he wasn't injured he didn't really get a chance of a long run in the team.

"I would definitely say that Blackburn Rovers fans have still to see the best of Martin Dahlin. Every player is upset if they are not in the first team because they want to play football. But nowadays it is a squad game and that is something players are going to have to get used to. They know they are going to play a certain amount of games each season."

Dahlin, who worked with Hodgson at Malmo, made a total of 13 full appearance and 11 from the bench. And he had to settle for nothing more than a support role to the Sutton and Gallacher show who scored 41 league and cup goals between them to fire Rovers into Europe.

Meanwhile Parkes is the latest club official to deny stories that Stuart Ripley is on the verge of rejoining his former club Middlesbrough.

He said: "It is such an obvious link but there is no truth in the fact. People get it into their heads that because we have just bought a right-sided winger in Jim Corbett that he is a naturally successor for Stuart. But it is a case of two and two making five!"

However Parkes did admit that Tor Pedersen could be leaving Ewood Park just eight months after joining Rovers from German club St Pauli for £500,000.

The defender, who has failed to command a regular first team place since joined Rovers in September, has been linked with Norwegian club Brann Bergen.

And the club could be prepared to let Pedersen go if they recuperate their money they paid for him.

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