Rovers won't sel Benni

McCarthy had expressed his wish to play Champions League football after bagging 18 league goals in his first season in the Premiership, though no move has materialised. With Santa Cruz now the fifth striker at the club, it had been rumoured Rovers would be ready to sell McCarthy, though chairman John Williams has maintained that the club is keen to hang onto his services for the forthcoming campaign.

"I think our big players will still want to be here. We certainly want to hold on to them," Williams said.

"We are rebuilding and I am confident in the squad we have. We have every reason to feel excited.

"The manager [Mark Hughes] is going to have some headaches selecting his side but that is a nice problem to have. I am rather pleased about that.

"You need a strong squad to compete in the toughest league in the world. We aim to improve year on year and I am hopeful we can do this time around."