JUBILANT striker Jonathan Stead said he felt like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders after his 10-month wait for a goal came to a dramatic end yesterday.

Stead climbed off the bench to score the winner in Rovers' magnificent 1-0 victory at Champions League chasing Everton.

It was the former Huddersfield forward's first Premiership goal since he netted in a 1-0 win against Manchester United on May 1 last year and the 21-year-old later admitted it was a huge relief to finally get off the mark for the season.

"I'm absolutely delighted," said an ecstatic Stead.

"It's been so long since I last scored, it feels like such a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

"My confidence hasn't been at its best, I think that's been obvious to see.

"But as soon as I got the chance to play, I knew I had 70 or 80 minutes to shine and it might be the only chance I get in the next two or three months so I just thought to myself 'I've got to go for it and prove I can still do it'.

"Now I've got the goal, hopefully, I can kick on from here and go on a bit of a run."

Stead's match-winning strike delighted Rovers manager Mark Hughes, who saw his side leap up to 14th in the Premier League table, their highest placing since August.

"I'm absolutely delighted for Jon," said Hughes.

"He's had a tough time this year, it hasn't gone for him but he's worked extremely hard in training and in the games where he's been involved.

"I just felt it was worth a chance to throw him on.

"He's been lacking in confidence, he'll tell you that himself, but he worked his socks off when he came on, he showed a real desire to show what he can do, and scored a great goal as well, so we're all delighted for him."

Meanwhile, Hughes is hopeful Paul Dickov WILL be fit to face Leicester in the FA Cup at the weekend, despite the striker limping off with a nasty gash on his leg yesterday.

"Paul's a bit sore. He had a gash that seemed to blow up almost immediately but hopefully it's not too serious," said the Rovers boss.

"I don't think it's related to his other problem, I think it's just a bang on the inner thigh and it's got a lot of blood in there at the moment but when it settles down, he should be okay."