ROQUE Santa Cruz insists that three Premier League points are more important than his seventh goal of the season when Rovers take on West Ham at Ewood Park this Sunday (kick-off 4.00pm).

The Paraguay striker, who has failed to find the back of the net in his last seven games, is more concerned with helping his side stay amongst the leading pack in the top flight.

"It is a another big game for us," he said. "We are at home again and we are in the situation where we want to get as many points as we can at home.

"We want to get away from the other clubs around us and to get nearer to the top five.

"I go into every game looking to score goals, but the most important thing is to win the game and if I can score then it is even better for me."

Sunday's league clash against the Hammers is the first of eight games in three different competitions for Rovers over the next month, which will be a new experience for the former Bayern Munich marksman.

For Roque, who spent eight seasons with the German giants, is more accustomed to enjoying a Winter break, which operates in the Bundesliga and across Europe. In fact, following Bayern's last league game of 2007, on December 15th, they aren't in action again until February 1st.

"It is a whole new thing for me," added Roque. "Everybody at the club has been talking about it for a long time now, so I already knew it was coming.

"It will be something new at Christmas for me, but I like to play football, so I will try just to enjoy the time as much as possible."