Paul Lambert: 'Jordan Rhodes key to Blackburn Rovers hopes'

Paul Lambert has compared "incredible" Blackburn Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes to Premier League hotshot Christian Benteke.

The 46-year-old was appointed as Rovers' new boss on Sunday evening following a nine-month spell out of the game.

Having already admitted that his main target at Ewood Park is to earn promotion back to the Premier League, Lambert is now relying on the goals of prolific forward Rhodes to spearhead a potential promotion push.

"His goalscoring is incredible, he will be every bit as important as Christian Benteke and Grant Holt while I was at Aston Villa and Norwich," the Scotsman told reporters. "If he can keep his goalscoring form going, he will be a big help to us."

Lambert has also acknowledged the importance of the club's fanbase getting behind each player once again, with a barren period in Blackburn's history seeing seven managers come and go in the same number of years.

"There are still a lot of games to be played," he added. "We are wee bit off [the playoff zone], but we have to win games. If we can get the fans to come here and support us, we have a chance. It will take time to assess everybody in terms of how they perform."

A Lancashire derby meeting with Preston North End this coming weekend will mark Lambert's first game in charge of Rovers, who currently find themselves down in 16th place.