"Chelsea's Franco Di Santo would like to see Blackburn beat the Londoners on Saturday"

Franco Di Santo, Blackburn Rovers' in-form loan signing from Chelsea, has thanked Sam Allardyce for making him a more complete Premier League striker and hopes his temporary club beat his permanent employers in London on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Argentinian registered his first goal for Rovers in Sunday's east Lancashire derby defeat of Burnley and produced another impressive all-round display in partnership with David Dunn. The striker made only eight substitute appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea following a £3m arrival in January 2008 and was dispatched on loan to Ewood Park as a result.

Di Santo's loan move has begun to pay dividends for all parties, with Allardyce desperate for a commanding centre-forward when Roque Santa Cruz left for Manchester City in the summer, to the extent that he will be reluctant to return to Chelsea as planned in January.

"It is good for me being at Blackburn. I am very happy to be here because the manager has given me the opportunity to play," he said. "That has given me the opportunity to improve and gain experience and I hope to get better and better over the next few games.

"Sam Allardyce is helping me to become a more complete player. I am very happy at Blackburn. I need to improve and gain experience. I need to play games and score goals. If I go back to Chelsea I will try my best but if I stay here I will continue my education. I hope to get back to Chelsea and play. If I go back and don't play, it is less good for me. It depends on the situation. If I play for Chelsea, I will be happy because they were my first team in England and I always hoped to play in a top team. But if I stay here, I will be happy. I won't have a problem."

Di Santo is due to return to Stamford Bridge in January, when Carlo Ancelotti will lose the likes of Didier Drogba to the African Cup of Nations. The transfer ban on Chelsea has also removed any likelihood of the Argentinian staying at Ewood Park. "I hope Blackburn win on Saturday," said the striker, who is ineligible to face his permanent club. "Now I play for them and want to do my best for them. When I go back to Chelsea, I will want the best for them. Now Blackburn are paying my wages so I want a Blackburn win. I will go to the game because I have a lot of friends at Chelsea and my contract is still with them. I want to go to watch."

Meanwhile, Robbie Blake believes Burnley are getting a raw deal from referees because they are "a small club". The veteran opened the scoring in the derby against Blackburn but finished on the losing side. He was incensed that the referee Chris Foy allowed Di Santo's goal to stand, claiming that the goalkeeper Brian Jensen had been impeded.

"The decisions did not go our way and that is because we are a small club called Burnley," said Blake. "We are never going to get these decisions – referees think we do not deserve them. It is just one of those things and we have got to roll our sleeves up and get on with it."