CHRIS Samba will put his ‘Wembley dreams’ on the backburner as he focuses on helping Blackburn Rovers achieve their Premier League ambitions.

Rovers battle it out with Aston Villa for a place in the Carling Cup final in early January with Samba admitting ‘we couldn’t have a better chance to reach Wembley’.

But, before the two-legged semi final, Sam Allardyce’s men face Premier League trips to Hull City, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic, as well as home games against Spurs and Sunderland, with Samba eyeing a swift rise into the top half of the table.

Last season’s 2-1 win at Hull in March proved a crucial turning point in Rovers’ tense fight against the drop but, as they prepare to return to the KC Stadium on Saturday, he insists their sights now have to be set higher.

Rovers travel to Hull in 12th position in the Premier League and, with some winnable fixtures ahead, Samba is determined to silence the remaining critics.

“There is a lot to look forward to,” he said. “We have a semi-final, I don’t think we could have a better chance to get to a final and of course we will do our hardest to get to the final and win.

"We are determined to something in the Carling Cup and it would be a disappointment, if we didn’t manage that.

“We are not only focused on the Carling Cup though, that comes and goes so quickly. We want to improve in the league so we have to stay focused on that.

“It was a good win at Hull last season. We are not in the same position now though.

"Last time we were really struggling, and were scrapping for points just to stay up, this season we are in a much better position and are not approaching the game the same way.

“We are looking upwards and not down. We have to beat Hull if we want to climb up the league.

"There are a lot of points on the board and we could be surprised where we can finish, certainly in the top half.”

The weekend’s goalless draw with Liverpool saw Rovers’ unbeaten home record stretch back nine games to the opening day of the season and, with just two defeats at Ewood in Sam Allardyce’s 23 games in charge, Samba believes even the ‘very best’ will fear a trip to Ewood Blackburn Rovers’ towering defender accepts their away form has to improve, starting with a busy period on their travels this month, but believes their Premier League success can be built at ‘fortress Ewood’.

He said: “This last six weeks we have seen an improvement in the way we play.

"We play much better passing the ball, we are better going forward and are creating a lot of chances but we have a small problem in trying to convert it.

"With a little bit of luck and good finishing, we could have been well up the table.

“No one will fancy coming here. We want to stay a very good side at home and believe we can win every game we play at home.

It doesn’t matter who we play, we believe we can do well.

"That shows by us being disappointed against Liverpool with a draw.

“I don’t think we saw it as a point gained on Saturday. We are disappointed.

"In the second half, they had one chance, but we had a lot of places where we could win the game.”