Mark Hughes has demanded a rousing end to the season from Blackburn, who still have an outside chance of qualifying for the Intertoto Cup.Rovers face Cup finalists Portsmouth on Sunday, fresh from a fine home draw with Premier League leaders Manchester United last weekend.
With rivals for the lesser European places, Manchester City and Aston Villa, both winning last weekend, Blackburn's task of reaching the Intertoto Cup has diminished.
But boss Hughes was delighted with the application shown in holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw, which came straight after a poor display in losing at Liverpool the week before.
Now Rovers face a Pompey side with half an eye on the FA Cup final and the Ewood Park chief is eager for his team to continue the form they showed against Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
"After the draw with United, we have set the standard again," Hughes said.
"We were disappointed with our performance at Liverpool, we did not really lay a glove on them and the display was very flat.
"I knew I would get a response against Manchester United, and that is certainly what I had.
"Now we have set the standard again. We know exactly how hard we have to run and how hard we have to play to be able to get results at this level.
"And that will he help us in the games we have left."
Blackburn have only lost two of their last nine league games, but it is draws with relegation haunted Reading and Fulham that have taken their toll on Hughes' European hopes.
And after the Pompey trip, Rovers have a home match with relegated Derby and on the final day of the season face a trip to troubled Birmingham.
Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen has urged his side to "give everything" in one last push to sneak a European place.
He said: "The next three games are so important to us, but at least it means that the season will not just die out.
"It will be hard to qualify for the Intertoto Cup now, but we know that basically we just have to win our final three games. It is a genuine goal for us to aim at in the final matches.
"In the end, even three wins might not be enough, but we will give it everything we have. We will give it a real go now and just keep battling hard to the end."
More Football News from TEAMtalk
