MARK Hughes has admitted he faces a tough test of his managerial skills over the Christmas period as he attempts to arrest a worrying slump in Blackburn Rovers' fortunes.

An unwanted run of three defeats in the last four games, the latest coming against lowly Wigan Athletic at the weekend, has threatened to undermine what had previously been a promising start to the campaign.

Hughes was particularly perturbed by the manner of Rovers' demise at the JJB Stadium, slamming his side's first half performance as unacceptable' in his post-match press conference.

And, with his players now facing two massive home games against Arsenal and Chelsea over the next six days, the Rovers boss admits it is in testing situations like this where a manager really earns his money.

Speaking ahead of tonight's Carling Cup quarter-final with the in-form Gunners, a bullish Hughes said: "We have to turn things around and we are trying to put our fingers on the areas we need to improve on. I think they are there for everyone to see.

"We are shipping too many goals, we have been poor on set-plays, and we have lost players through suspensions, which has disrupted the natural flow of our play.

"Those suspensions have broken up little units we have in our team and we are fragmented at times.

"But this is the perfect game for us to get back on track again.

"There will be a good atmosphere, and we will be looking to get back on the front foot again and see if we can get into a semi-final, because we've had a good run in the cup competitions since I've been here."

After stringing seven straight wins together during the months of September and October, Rovers have taken just five points from a possible 21 since.

A spate of red cards hardly enhanced Rovers' chances of accumulating more points during that period; in four of the last six matches, Hughes has seen his side reduced to 10-men.

Yet, despite that flurry of dismissals, Hughes believes some of his players are actually guilty of not being competitive enough, as opposed to over-stepping the mark.

"At the moment, I don't think that we are competing enough," said Hughes, bluntly "We pride ourselves on being rock-solid defensively and we are not that at the moment, we are a little bit loose.

"We need to get back to being a lot more solid, and that's not just the back four, it's right through the team.

"It's about defending from the front, and in midfield we've got to be competitive and win our challenges, and create things higher up the field, rather than letting teams play in and around us."

Hughes has always maintained that when his players are fit and firing on all cylinders, Rovers are a match for anyone in the Premier League - a point that was reinforced earlier this season, when they held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Ewood.

But as the two sides prepare to meet again this evening, several of Hughes' key performers are not currently hitting the levels they were achieving in the early weeks of the campaign.

Hughes added: "We have always said that, for us to win Premier League games, we need eight or nine players at the top of their game, but at the moment maybe some aren't playing to the level we know they are capable of."