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Kean delighted to welcome Yak back Manager Steve Kean believes Aiyegbeni Yakubu's return will be the catalyst to lift Blackburn out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone. The striker has missed the last three league games through suspension after he was shown a red card in the 3-1 win over Wigan but is available for the clash against fellow strugglers QPR. During Yakubu's ban, Blackburn have only picked up a point in the 1-1 draw against Everton while last Saturday they were subjected to a 7-1 thrashing at Arsenal. However, Kean is confident the return of the Nigerian will make all the difference as he tries to wrestle three points from a team three places better off in the league. "To get the Yak back, he's our leading scorer and we've missed him," Kean said. "I think he's quoted as saying that three games felt like three months so it's brilliant for us to have him back. He's our leading scorer and if we give him the service he's going to be a real important player for us in the remaining games. "He's an infectious character round the place and he's always got a smile on his face and it's great that he's back and available for selection again." Kean is confident his side are in good shape to face a QPR side who are just three points ahead of them. "It's a big week, and it's a week off the back of the Arsenal result, but we've done a lot of positive work," Kean said. "It's a game to be looking forward to and not to be dreading. "It's on our home patch and the crowd over the last three or four home games has been fantastic, along with the travelling fans, so the atmosphere has been nice inside the ground and we're really looking forward to this game." Mark Hughes may still be getting used to his new QPR squad but he believes he has seen enough to suggest they have enough firepower to beat the drop this season. The Welsh manager replaced Neil Warnock at the Loftus Road helm exactly a month ago and swiftly went about bringing in new faces such as Nedum Onuoha, Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora. The latter played under Hughes during his spell in charge at Fulham last season, where they overcame a poor start to finish eighth in the table. While admitting circumstances are a lot different a year on with QPR, Hughes is confident his new side can also enjoy a strong end to the campaign. "I am still getting a real understanding of what I have to work with," he said. "It's not been easy because coming in January is a bit different to my previous job, where I was there from the start of the season. "I had longer to assess the squad and what happened at Fulham last year was we struggled with attacking players. "Bobby Zamora was out for a long period, Mousa Dembele was unavailable and Andrew Johnson as well, so that had an effect on us. "We had to wait for those guys back in the New Year and they made a big difference. "I think in terms of what we can deduce in an attacking sense, I think we are definitely on par that. "That's why I am confident that we can create chances and now we have guys than can covert them as well." QPR's new-look strikeforce of Cisse and Zamora impressed last week against Wolves, although the partnership only lasted 34 minutes as the former received a straight red card for an altercation with Roger Johnson. The sending off helped the west Midlanders who came back from a goal behind to win 2-1 at Loftus Road and, while Cisse is unavailable for the trip to Blackburn, Hughes is keen to take the positives from the match. "I was pleased by some of the things we saw," Hughes said. "Obviously we were disappointed to lose the game and losing Djibril for three games, which is a big loss. "In terms of what we can produce in an attacking sense, I think we've improved markedly since we added players. "I am looking forward to the game at the weekend, which will be another big test. "We know exactly what we have to do; we have to win as many games as we can ahead of us. "If we do that, then we will be fine this year, which is the objective that everybody here is focusing on."