ROVERS battler Garry Flitcroft has blown the lid on the self-belief inside the Ewood camp by declaring: 'We are better than Fulham and tonight we are going to prove it'.

In a remarkable display of conviction and confidence, 'Flitty' claims Graeme Souness's side are the best in the First Division, and only a stuttering start to the campaign has stood between them and the title.

Flitcroft admitted that catching the runaway leaders was 'maybe' out of the question but the form Rovers have shown in the second half of the season has proved they are the top side.

"We are going into this game knowing we can beat them," said the 28-year-old midfielder.

"I think we are a better side than them -- all over the park. I think we have proved that with the run we have been on in the second half of the season.

"We are all looking forward to this game because we are out to prove it."

Tonight's Ewood clash has been dubbed Rovers' biggest game of the season but Flitcroft knows there are only three points at stake.

"I don't think this is the most important game," he said. "The last 10 or 15 have been more important. They have all been big games and we have come through them.

"People wrote us off earlier in the season but we went on a run and then people started to say we were good for the play-offs. Now they are saying we can win automatic promotion."

A win for Rovers tonight would put them six points clear of third-placed Bolton.

Rovers are 13 points behind Fulham with a game in hand.

"We can put six points between us and Bolton tonight. That is a big gap at this stage of the season," he said.

Since Rovers lost 2-1 at Craven Cottage on October 15 -- a result which saw them drop to 15th in Division One -- they have been on a run of 28 games, winning 19 and losing just three.

"It is great because the lads are playing with such confidence," said Flitcroft. "It is a great feeling going out knowing you can pick up three points. It is better than scrapping.

"Now we want to pit our wits against supposedly the best side in the division, even if catching them is maybe out of the question."

Flitcroft is proud of his teammates, saying they have proved the doubters -- who said they lacked bottle -- wrong.

"We have shown some of the battling qualities that people thought we lacked.

"We have a lot of quality and character in the squad, mental strength. We have all pulled together, the team spirit has been great and that is why we are up there."

Despite his unshakable belief that Souness's men are the league's top side, Flitcroft does concede that Fulham are quality.

"They're a great side," he said of Jean Tigana's men. "It will be a good midfield battle. Me, Alan Mahon and David Dunn have got a good relationship going and I know Lee Clark from my England Under 21 days. It will be great to play against him.

"We are full of confidence and I think we can get a result."

Meanwhile, the Cottagers' no-nonsense left back Rufus Brevett has been boasting to the south London Press that his side will return from Ewood Park with all three points.

"It is a tall order as Blackburn are playing very well at the moment and it's possibly our hardest game of the season," said the defender.

"But we thought that when we went to Birmingham and we ended up beating them quite easily in the end.

"When we go away from home teams have to come at us and that might just help our game. I think we'll get a result there. The lads are certainly well up for this one."

ROVERS: from Friedel, Curtis, Bjornebye, Short, Berg, Flitcroft, Dunn, Duff, Gillespie, Mahon, Berkovic, Jansen, Bent, Hignett, Hughes, Keller, Johnson, Filan.

Rovers have sold their full allocation of 3,000 tickets for Saturday's game at Stockport County. Fans are advised not to travel without a ticket.