KEITH Andrews believes his dream Rovers move could revive his boyhood Republic of Ireland hopes – but knows there is a huge task ahead of him at Ewood Park first.

The former MK Dons midfielder has been forced to wait to start making an impression at Blackburn, with most of the squad away with their countries, but is now determined to make up for lost time.

With Steven Reid stealing the show for Ireland in Saturday’s 2-0 win, Andrews could not help but take an envious glance in that direction – admitting Irish caps have always been the aim.

But with the likes of Reid, Brett Emerton and Aaron Mokoena all providing fierce competition for places ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Arsenal, and the injured Vince Grella also around, Andrews is quick to point out he has some more immediate work on his hands.

He said: “Playing for Ireland is definitely a goal and is obviously a dream I have had for a long, long time.

“But first and foremost I am a Blackburn Rovers player and I have to try and establish myself in the first team and try and play as many games as possible.

“I am under no illusions that will be a very, very hard task because we have some great players here, none more so than in midfield.

“First and foremost that is my goal and if I do achieve that the rest will look after itself.”

Having skippered Wolves at the age of 20, Andrews admits his wait to hit the big time has been longer than expected but, after spells in the lower leagues, has assured fans he is ready to grasp his opportunity with both hands.

“Possibly I did think I would get here sooner than I have,” he said. “But for various reasons, some under my control and some not in my control, things did not quite happen.

“I felt I had to move on from Wolves and make a clean break because I had been there for too long.

“I then took a step down to Hull, another step down to MK Dons and it probably hit home that I needed to knuckle down, have a look at myself, if I was going to achieve what I thought I could in my career. Thankfully I did that without it being too late.”

Since arriving from League One at the end of August, the Dubliner, who turns 28 tomorrow, has had limited time with Paul Ince’s full squad due to international commitments.

But, as they all return for the visit of Arsenal, Andrews insists the last fortnight has been invaluable in his opening Premiership experience.

He said: “It has been strange a little bit because obviously I only trained with the full squad for one day, had the game against West Ham, and now everyone has been away on international duty for the last 10 days.

“But it has been good. I have got to know the place and got to know the lads that are here and have enjoyed getting stuck into some training.

“It is a lot different to how it has been for me because you have international breaks every month and that is disruption on a monthly basis. Games come thick and fast at the lower level but you perhaps get more of a breather in the Premiership.”