BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today said he's confident Rovers can pull off the perfect smash and grab raid in Turkey today.

Rovers will attempt to win their first ever tie in the UEFA Cup when they take on Ankara-based outfit Genclerbirgligi.

And Souness is backing his players to make history in the Mayis Stadium as Rovers go in search of what would be only their second win in 15 outings in Europe.

"We've got some experienced players in our team now and I'm looking for a good performance from them, so I think we can get a good result which will then enable us to get through the second game," said Souness.

"I'm not going to pack the team with defenders and try and nick a result because I never ask my team to do that.

"When we go to Old Trafford we try to win the game and we've come here to try and win the tie. That's how I approach football.

"My experience of European football is it's sometimes easier to play away from home than it is at home. People say it's better to be away from home first but that's worked for and against me in the past."

Souness is set to name his strongest possible team, with Dino Baggio likely to be handed his full debut in midfield in the absence of Garry Flitcroft and Barry Ferguson.

And the Rovers boss believes his players are fired up for the first round first leg tie, even though he's continually stressed that the UEFA Cup is second in his priorities behind the Premiership.

"I know there's been noises about this not being a major competition for us but if you were to ask the players I'm sure they would regard this as a glamour competition," said Souness.

"This is an opportunity for them to come on trips like this, to go to some exciting places, and to play a different type of football.

"I believe when you're a professional footballer every game you play in is an important one and I've got some very good senior professionals.

"They'll make sure that whoever is playing is well up for it tonight.

"Last year I felt we were a wee bit unlucky to get knocked out over two games against Celtic. We lost 3-0 to them over the tie and that didn't reflect how the games panned out."