A SECOND-ROUND Carling Cup game against League Two opposition hardly ranks among the most important in Blackburn Rovers’ recent history.

But for emerging winger Keith Treacy, tonight’s clash against Grimsby Town at Ewood Park offers him a welcome turn in the spotlight and the stage to perform.

“These games are massive for me,” he said. “They might not mean too much to the senior pros but to people like me they mean a lot.

“These are the games I’m going to have to impress in to get into the first team.

“I am looking forward to playing at Ewood in front of the crowd again and hopefully we will get a few thousand in.

“After coming on as a substitute (for the youth team) when I was 15, if I start tomorrow it will be a sign of progression, which is obviously what I’m looking to do.”

Treacy, who will be 20 next month, has certainly emerged from the pack in Paul Ince’s opening weeks in charge of Rovers.

After an impressive pre-season campaign, the left-sided midfielder was used from the bench in Blackburn’s opening-day win at Everton and is expected to start this evening in a re-shuffled side.

And Treacy is desperate to stay in the first-team picture in a crucial season for his development.

“It’s not make or break but I need to get games in the Premier League. I am at that age now where I need to be playing,” he added.

“If I’m not playing I will have to look elsewhere. Obviously I want to play for Blackburn and I will do my best but if I don’t I will have to look elsewhere.”

A product of the Rovers Academy following his arrival from his native Ireland, Treacy made his full senior debut for Rovers at the start of the year when Mark Hughes pitched him in against Coventry City in the FA Cup.

Unfortunately for the Republic of Ireland under-21 international, who had played as a substitute in a Carling Cup win at Portsmouth earlier in the season, Rovers crashed out in embarrassing fashion.

Treacy is eager to avoid a similar outcome against the Mariners – whose only win so far this season came against Tranmere Rovers in the first round – to sustain hopes of a decent run in the competition and secure some more games for himself.

“They won’t have the quality we will have but we will have to stand up to the test and earn the right to play.”

The Dublin-born wideman is following the path trodden to the Rovers first-team in recent years by fellow Irishmen Damien Duff and Jonathan Douglas.

They both also graduated to full international honours during their time at Ewood Park.

Treacy added: “If I am playing regularly in Blackburn first-team I would expect to get into the Ireland team.

"But I am concentrating on Blackburn.”