TONY Parkes has faith in his faltering strike force to come good and put Blackburn Rovers' play-off hopes back on course.

And, even though the Ewood boss is actively searching for re-inforcements to cure the forwards' goal famine, his message to the men who take on Ipswich tonight is - be upbeat and confident and keep going for goal.

Whichever strikers Rovers have used, their record in recent months is abysmal but Parkes is backing his men to produce the goods.

"The worst thing that can happen is that players become obsessed by missing chances and they keep out of the way and stop going in the box," he said.

"That's a fear. But, to be fair to the players, they have kept going and getting in there .

"All you can do is practise and hope that they are strong enough to keep going in there because, hopefully, they won't all miss."

It has been frustrating for the manager, never more so than at Tranmere on Saturday. But he is trying to instil them with confidence as Rovers prepare for one of their most testing trips of the season.

"We have four front men and you can't lose patience with them," he said.

"If you do, they say that you've given it up and have no confidence in them.

"We still have to believe we can score goals and, if we do, that will certainly happen. We try to keep upbeat about it.

"As I've said before, we don't want to go on and on about it. "The more people talk about it, the worse it gets and I think it can knock their confidence.

"All I and the people here can do is try to relieve them of that pressure and try to be as upbeat and as confident as we can with them."

Parkes is under no illusions as to the difficulties posed by a trip to Portman Road.

"Ipswich will be difficult, they are one of the best sides in the league," he said.

"After they lost to Portsmouth on Saturday, that kind of thing usually backfires on you.

"They'll be keen to get back on the winning trail to keep up their chances of an automatic promotion place."

Who plays up front tonight is anyone's guess.

No matter which two he has permed from four strikers, the outcome has been the same for some weeks.

There will have to be a change in midfield, however, with Jason McAteer ruled out through the hamstring strain he collected at Tranmere.

Per Frandsen did well when he went on in the second half at Prenton Park and the Dane looks likely to retain his place.

Rovers took reserve striker James Thomas to Tranmere on Saturday, though didn't make the squad. He twisted an ankle in training yesterday so teenager Ben Burgess travelled to Ipswich instead as cover, but is unlikely to be in the 16.

David Dunn has been having treatment for a knock he picked up in the reserves.

Parkes looks set to choose from: Kelly, Grayson, Dailly, Broomes, Davidson, Gillespie, Frandsen, Flitcroft, Duff, Ward, Blake, Jansen, Ostenstad, Peacock, Johnson, Dunn, Miller.

Ipswich will give a fitness test to midfielder Jamie Scowcroft, who has a hip muscle injury and is rated very doubtful. So too is defender John McGreal (knee).

Ex-Rover Gary Croft's hopes of facing his old club could depend on whether he has recovered from a gashed leg.

Even if he is fit, Croft may have to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench.

Ipswich are expected to choose from: R Wright, Clegg, Wilnis, Mowbray, Brown, Clapham, Holland, Magilton, Scowcroft, J Wright, Johnson, Stewart, Naylor, Stockwell, Thetis, Branagan.

Simon Grayson stressed there was no shortage of confidence in the side, despite Saturday's major setback.

"We have to get something for definite at Ipswich. We have to make sure we don't get beaten," he said. "There are still a lot of points to be played for. You just have to look at the fixtures, everyone's beating each other and we have a lot of teams to play as well.

"Eight points is a lot to make up but we still feel we have the confidence to do it (reach the play-offs).

"We are creating chances and hopefully we can go on a run again from now until the end of the season.

"Saturday was a massive defeat and disappointment for us. In the last two games we've played ever so well, created numerous chances and yet come away with just one point when it should have been six."

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