After three years in charge at Ewood Park - Hughes celebrated the anniversary with a goalless draw at Chelsea on Saturday - Rovers are finally earning respect from their peers.

Blackburn were long derided as an overly physical team, infuriating the likes of Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson in the process with their no-nonsense style of play.

It was a tag that infuriated Hughes, who has often bristled with indignation when questioned on the subject.

But now Blackburn are a much more accomplished side, leading to the suggestion they could finally win a trophy this season.

Ahead of Thursday's first leg of their UEFA Cup first-round tie with Greek Cup winners Larissa, Hughes is happy to accept the plaudits, and is eager to live up to such lofty expectations.

"The aim at the beginning of every season is to win something," remarked Hughes.

"But we're acknowledged as one of the better teams in the Premier League, and people are actually talking about us in those terms,

"That's something new for us, something we have to get used to, which raises expectations.

"I've always subscribed to the view you should work to those expectations, not try to dampen things down and hope to over- achieve.

"Fans want to believe there's a chance of winning big games, winning silverware.

"Sometimes there can be false dawns, but I just sense with this group of players we have now that the next step is to try and win some silverware if we can."

As far as Hughes is concerned, he believes the current squad is the best he has worked with, adding: "I think that's acknowledged by most people.

"We've good depth, good quality of players who can come in, so I have the option of rotating the squad if I feel the need to.

"I've not had to do that up until this point, but it's the first time the option has been open to me since I've been in charge.

"That shows the strength we have this year."

The UEFA Cup is a competition Hughes is refusing to take lightly and while he previously expressed his desire to live up to expectations, Hughes feels this year's tournament represents a tough proposition.

"We go with the thought of winning it, but it's very difficult because it's a harder competition to win this season given the other teams still involved," assessed Hughes.

"There are top clubs around like Bayern Munich who were unable to qualify for the Champions League, so it's a very, very strong competition.

"It's probably more difficult than last year when we felt we were unlucky to exit when we did (last 32 to Bayer Leverkusen).

"We're hoping to improve, but it's going to be more difficult."

Christopher Samba does not travel for the tie at the Panthessaliko Stadium in Volos - Larissa's Alkazar Stadium does not come up to UEFA standards - due to a head injury sustained at Chelsea.