ACCORDING to Steven Reid, Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane, is the joker in the dressing room.

But the 27-year-old Rovers midfielder, who will be making his 100th Premier League appearance today, insists it will be no laughing matter if the Spurs hitman slips through home defence, scores and enjoys his trademark celebration.

Reid revealed that the striker, who has netted 22 goals for Juande Ramos' side in all competitions this season, has been a big influence on him while away on international duty.

And he was well aware of the threat the Irishman poses at Ewood Park this afternoon.

He said: "He's got great ability, and when I'm away with Ireland, he's always been a figure that I look up to.

"It doesn't surprise me that he's had the captain's armband over the last couple of years for Spurs and he's definitely one I'll be keeping my eye on today.

"Although he's captain of club and country, he's a bit of a joker as well, and I think you need that in the dressing room. He's a good lad.

"He's been brilliant with me since I've been in the Ireland set-up and it seems like he's having a big influence on the players around him at Spurs as well."

Keane has been a thorn in Rovers' side since he joined Spurs from Leeds United back in 2002, with five goals against them, including a strike in Blackburn's dramatic 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane earlier in the season.

But Reid admitted there would be no plans to single out Keane for special attention - because Spurs, who have already bagged the first trophy of the season in the League Cup, securing their place in the UEFA Cup for next season, have so many attacking options at their disposal.

He said: "They've got quality strikers and they've got quality in midfield.

"It looks like their main front two is Keane and Berbatov, but Darren Bent cost £16 million as well so they've got decent players all over the park.

"We're not going to be focusing on one individual player. It's going to need to be a good team performance from us to win the game."