BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes has called on his players to put in a 'Chelsea power show' against high-flying Charlton Athletic.
The Addicks arrive in the North West boasting a perfect away record in the Premiership having won five out of five on the road this season.
But Hughes is confident his team can stop Alan Curbishley's high-fliers firmly in their tracks if they show the same attitude and application that enabled them to claw back a 2-0 deficit at Chelsea last week.
Although Rovers ultimately went on to lose 4-2 to Jose Mourinho's all-conquering Blues, Hughes was suitably encouraged by his side's overall performance.
And he believes the way Rovers acquitted themselves at the Bridge demonstrated just how far the club has come under his direction since they were humbled by Chelsea on the same ground 12 months ago.
The upbeat Rovers boss said: "I think it shows how far we've come since the last time we played them.
"Last season, we got beat 4-0 there and it could probably have been 10.
"But we've since looked at the game again and, possession wise, the stats say they only just edged it - it was something like 51 per cent to our 49.
"So I think that shows we can now go to places like Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and compete."
Now Rovers face a Charlton side who actually succeeded in dumping Chelsea out of the Carling Cup 10 days ago, albeit after a penalty shoot-out, and, given the respective records of the two teams, something will have to give at Ewood tomorrow.
Rovers have won their last four home games in all competitions, while Charlton boast an immaculate away record.
In fact, all but four of the Addicks' 19 points have come away from The Valley, a return which has formed the bedrock of Charlton's best ever start to a Premiership campaign.
But, amazingly, Curbishley's side have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight league and cup outings.
In contrast, it's almost five hours since Brad Friedel last conceded a goal at Ewood, Pawel Abbott's strike in the 3-1 Carling Cup defeat of Huddersfield on September 21 being the last effort to beat the American.
Rovers have since recorded three successive shut-outs in defeating West Brom, Birmingham and Leeds United on home turf, and a victory over Charlton would see them notch up three back-to-back home victories in the Premiership for the first time since April 2003.
But Hughes has sounded a warning ahead of the game, knowing complacency could easily set in on the back of the Chelsea performance.
"We played Manchester United recently and got a great result against them, but then we faced West Brom at home and we spent the week before that emphasising the importance of keeping the momentum going and this is a similar situation," said Hughes.
"We came back from Chelsea with a lot of positives and now it's important that we kick on from here."
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