ANDRE Ooijer is desperate to prove he can cut it at Blackburn Rovers by leading the club into the group stages of the UEFA Cup at the expense of Red Bull Salzburg tonight.

After the first leg ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw a fortnight ago, the Dutch World Cup defender knows a clean sheet against the Austrians would guarantee Rovers a place in the next phase of the competition.

However, Ooijer is not just looking to enhance Rovers' European ambitions at Ewood Park this evening, he's also hoping a solid defensive display will help to win over the doubters who have yet to be convinced by his early performances in English football.

The 32-year-old centre back has had a torrid time since he agreed to join Rovers in a £1.6 million deal from PSV Eindhoven last month.

After conceding a penalty on his Premiership debut against Chelsea, Ooijer then suffered the misfortune of scoring an own goal during a disastrous first half against Manchester City.

Those mistakes led to the hapless Dutchman being made a scapegoat for some iffy defensive performances during the early part of the season.

But, while Ooijer accepts he made a poor start to his career in the Premiership, he insists there were mitigating circumstances that led to him struggling.

"I've had a tough start to my career here," he admitted.

"It's difficult to explain but in England, the pace of the game is a lot faster than what I've been used to.

"I didn't really have a good pre-season either. Because I went to the World Cup, I came back later with PSV, then I had a little fight with them, so I didn't train that much.

"I just played one game in pre-season, and that was with the national team against Ireland.

"I also got 45 minutes against Newcastle with PSV, but that was it for pre-season, so I didn't do much training before coming here.

"It was therefore hard for me to step straight into the team here, but you've got to be confident and believe you can get up to the level by working hard every day.

"I feel like I'm starting to settle in now.

"I've finally moved into a house now, and my wife and family are here with me, so I'm starting to feel more settled, and I think I'm getting better every day."

Ironically, one of Ooijer's best performances in a Blackburn shirt so far came in Salzburg's futuristic Red Bull Arena a fortnight ago.

A veteran of more than 50 European appearances, including a Champions League semi-final and three UEFA Cup quarter-finals with PSV, Ooijer's experience proved vital against a Salzburg side that is currently top of the Austrian Bundesliga.

Now manager Mark Hughes is hoping he can help steer the club through to the group stages, and possibly even beyond.

In both Ooijer and Tugay, Hughes has players with bags of European experience, a vital commodity as Rovers attempt to make their latest UEFA Cup adventure stretch beyond September.

Reflecting on that first leg performance a fortnight ago, when only a late lapse of concentration denied Rovers a 2-1 victory in the city where Mozart was born, Ooijer said: "We had a good result there, but it felt like a defeat because they scored in the last minute.

"When you score two goals in an away game in Europe that should be job done', but now we have to finish it tonight.

"The important thing is to get a result that will take us through to the next round of the competition."