MARK Hughes has set out a blueprint for success as he attempts to lead Blackburn Rovers into Europe, and possibly even the Champions League, during the final two months of the season.
The Rovers boss recently called a team meeting in which he told his players that a tilt at the top four is still a realistic target as the season reaches a potentially dramatic climax.
Rovers are currently six points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur, who occupy the fourth Champions League place, with a dozen games of the campaign still remaining.
But Hughes is convinced his players are capable of bridging that gap between now and May, providing they hit the points target that he has set for them.
The Welshman has a specific total in mind, which he believes could secure a top four finish, and he aims to keep his players' minds on the job by setting them mini targets along the way.
"We set targets and people keep harping on about them but, believe it or not, we are still on track," said Hughes, speaking ahead of today's Ewood clash with Arsenal.
"In fact, we raised our targets after the Manchester United game because we looked at the fixture list and thought we could capitalise on it.
"As it turned out, in the next two games we didn't, but the Sunderland game then helped us and we are back on track again now."
Hughes would not be drawn on exactly how many points he thinks Rovers need to gatecrash the top four, but history would suggest that a total in the region of 60 might be enough to secure a dream passport into Europe.
Four years ago, Newcastle finished fourth after garnering 71 points over the course of the season, but in the past two years, Liverpool and Everton have both secured Champions League football by amassing 60 and 61 points respectively.
While Hughes admits it's a tall order to expect Rovers to overhaul both Spurs and Arsenal during the run-in, he insists it's still an achievable target, particularly as his team face both of those North London rivals during the space of the next eight days.
The Rovers boss added: "We have to go on what points total has got teams European qualification in previous years, so we've based our targets on those.
"If we can do it, which I think we can, then it would be a fantastic achievement for a side that was struggling at the wrong end when I came through the door (18 months ago)."
Meanwhile, Jemal Johnson is reported to be a loan target for Bradford City, who are managed by Colin Todd, the father of Rovers' captain, Andy Todd.
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