BLACKBURN Rovers' new goalscoring sensation Shabani Nonda today insisted his best is yet to come.

The DR Congo international, who joined Rovers on a season-long loan from Roma on transfer deadline day, grabbed his first Premiership goal in Saturday's 1-0 win at Middlesbrough.

Afterwards, manager Mark Hughes was quick to heap praise on the striker for his match-winning exploits at the Riverside, claiming he and Benni McCarthy ran Boro ragged at times.

But Nonda, who likes to be known by his middle name, Chris, reckons he will get even better, once he adjusts to the frenetic pace of the Premiership.

"It's not easy for me (in this league). It's too quick, it's too rough, and it's too strong, but I'm trying to get used to it," said Nonda.

"I've played three games now in the Premiership but it's taking me time to get used to the game over here.

"I must also work on my fitness and it could be another two or three weeks before I get to the level I need to be.

"I went many days and months without playing in Rome, so it's only now that I'm starting to get my fitness back.

"It's a case of working on my sharpness, then maybe I'll be able to make more of an impact."

After tracking his career for a number of years, Hughes is convinced Nonda has all the attributes needed to be a big success in English football.

It's not so long ago the former Monaco star was being favourably compared to the legendary George Weah following a couple of golden years in France.

However, a serious knee injury then stopped the African firmly in his tracks, just when he was starting to be hailed as one of the most feared strikers in Europe.

When he finally regained his fitness, an unproductive spell in Italy's Serie A followed, but that failed to put off Hughes, who succeeded in bringing Nonda to England last month, a year after he was first alerted to his possible availability.

"Chris has done well for us so far," said Hughes.

"It's still early days for him because he hasn't had that many training sessions with us yet, but in the games he has played, he's given us energy, he's retained possession well for us, and I think he's shown a lot of people, who maybe didn't know a great deal about him, that he's an accomplished player who'll turn out to be a good signing for us.

"I knew a lot about him (before he came here), but I don't think that was the case with a lot of people.

"He's had his injury problems, but he's fit and well now, he's looking stronger with every day that he trains, and the rest of the lads are getting to know him, and how he wants the ball played, and vice versa.

"As I said, he'll be a good player for us because over the years, he's been an established European player."

Saturday's goal at the Riverside will, no doubt, have boosted Nonda's confidence going into Thursday's UEFA Cup tie with Red Bull Salzburg.

But, while it was relief to get off the mark against Boro, the striker is not one to dwell on the past.

He added: "It was good to score my first goal but for me, the most important thing is the performance of the team.

"The important thing now is to look forwards, not back. What happened on Saturday is forgotten.

"We've now got to make sure we prepare correctly for our next game, which is against Salzburg in Europe."