Youri Djorkaeff makes Rovers pledge as he prepares for Saturday's match against Aston Villa

NEW signing Youri Djorkaeff today promised to revive Blackburn Rovers' flagging fortunes after agreeing to become part of Mark Hughes's Ewood revolution.

The former French international joined Rovers on a free transfer earlier this week.

And Djorkaeff is convinced he can be the missing link that Hughes has been searching for as Rovers attempt to get their season up and running following a difficult start.

"In the heat of the moment, I will show the way to help the young players," said Djorkaeff.

"I like this kind of challenge.

"Blackburn need experienced players and I'm not scared about playing at this bad time.

"We've got some strong players here but we need more victories then it will become a little bit easier."

Hughes is already toying with the idea of throwing his new signing straight in at the deep end against Aston Villa on Saturday, even though the 36-year-old has not played a competitive game since the end of last season.

But Djorkaeff insists he's in the right kind of shape to face Villa after looking after himself during the intervening months.

The ex-Bolton star spent the summer in France training with a French Second Division side. And he also employed the services of a personal trainer to keep him fit so that he would be ready to step straight back into the game when the right offer came along.

"Whether I play against Aston Villa is up to the manager, but I'll try to make sure I'm on the field on Saturday," said Djorkaeff.

"I've no problem with the running, it's just match fitness I'm short of, so I hope I'm involved this weekend."

"I don't think the manager has decided yet but it wouldn't be a problem for me if he needs me."

Hughes is genuinely excited by the prospect of integrating Djorkaeff into his future plans.

The Welshman was becoming slightly concerned by the lack of creativity in the team but he's convinced that his new recruit can make all the difference in the final third.

"Youri's only been here a day or so and even in that short space of time he's shown the qualities that we need," said Hughes.

"He's calm in possession, he has a picture in his mind before the ball arrives, and he's basically a quality player.

"From my point of view, the more quality players you can bring into a football club, the better it will be."