Roberts still major part of Rovers plans, says Hughes

11:25am Thursday 27th March 2008

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BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes has reassured Jason Roberts he is still a major part of his plans for the future.

After his goal against Wigan Athletic at the weekend, Roberts admitted he still faced an uncertain future at Rovers, having previously spent large parts of the season on the outside looking in.

However, Hughes has made it clear he believes the striker could have a big say in Rovers' destiny between now and the end of the season, and he has also dismissed talk of wanting to sell him this summer.

The Rovers boss said: "No-one was ever trying to force Jason Roberts out of the door.

"At one point he got frustrated and felt his future possibly lay elsewhere, but that was never the case from my point of view.

"My thinking is he's still very much part of what we are trying to do here.

"I think (his transfer request) was borne out of frustration.

"I think he came back from injury and felt he should have been back in the team sooner rather than later, and he possibly put in the transfer request a little bit too early.

"He maybe just needed to be a little bit more patient, which he has been since, and, thankfully, he's come back in and made a real impact for us."

After finishing last season in blistering form, having forged an impressive partnership with Benni McCarthy, Roberts must have started this term with big expectations.

However, several injury set-backs, coupled with the arrival of Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich, meant the Grenada international was restricted to only a bit-part role, until he recently won his place back for the trip to West Ham.

Complimenting Roberts on his attitude, Hughes said: "Jason has done very well.

"He's had to be patient, and there have been times when he has got frustrated, because he felt he needed more games.

"He wants to play week in, week out but that's not something I can guarantee anyone.

"Everyone's position here is up for grabs and they have to perform and play well every week.

"But Jason has stuck at it and come back and got his head down, and he's played well in the games I've picked him.

"He's made an impact coming on as a sub, and when I picked him against West Ham, I thought he was one of our better players.

"Obviously, against Wigan, he and Roque played very well and caused them lots of problems, so I'm sure he'll play a number of games between now and the end of the season."