EWOOD new boy Michael Gray today said he's convinced that Blackburn Rovers have what it takes to win their battle for Premiership survival.

After staring into the eyes of his new team-mates earlier this week, the 29-year-old utility man firmly believes Rovers are in far better shape to beat the drop than his old club Sunderland were at this point last season.

Gray was part of the Black Cats team which eventually suffered the ignominy of relegation from the Premier League last May.

It was a harrowing experience for everyone connected with the fallen North East giants and Graeme Souness's latest signing is determined to make sure that Rovers do not suffer a similar fate.

"It was difficult at Sunderland last season," said Gray.

"Walking into the dressing room you could see even before we started training that a lot of heads were down and people were worrying about the weekend coming and who we were playing.

"But it looks very, very different here. Everyone is very bubbly, the dressing room is really good, and you can see that everyone is a lot more positive.

"We all know that Blackburn Rovers are in a false position at the moment and the sooner we get out of it, the better.

"We've got some good games coming up, where we know we can pick up some points, and that's what we've got to start doing as soon as we can."

Gray swapped the Stadium of Light for Ewood Park earlier this week after signing a two and a half year deal with Rovers.

And he cited the lure of the Premiership as the main reason behind his decision to bring the curtain down on a Sunderland career which had spanned more than 13 years.

"It's a new challenge for me. Maybe I stayed at Sunderland a couple of seasons too long," said Gray.

"I'd been there from the age of 15 and this was my 13th season of playing in the first team.

"I had some fantastic times there but it was time for me to leave.

"I know I can still play in the Premiership and this gave me the opportunity to move on and join a great club like Blackburn, who are one of only three clubs to have won the Premiership title."

Gray was a huge favourite at Sunderland, where he clocked up more than 400 first team appearances and went on to establish himself as one of the best left-sided players in the country.

At one point, his form earned him a call-up to the England squad and he won three caps under Kevin Keegan.

However, Sunderland's subsequent fall from grace and the installation of Sven Goran Eriksson as England manager resulted in those international opportunities grinding to a halt.

But Gray still dreams of pulling on the famous three lions once again some day and his return to the Premiership stage will only help to boost his cause.

"You never give up hope. It's been a few years since I've played for the international side so, first and foremost, I've got to establish myself at Blackburn and try and break into the side here by playing well on a consistent basis week-in, week-out," said Gray.

"We've got 16 games to go and I want to do well in them first, then we can see what happens next season.

"So England's at the back of my mind at the moment.

"I want to do well for Blackburn first and help them to finish as high up in the Premiership as possible."

That fight will start for Gray on Sunday when he's expected to make his Blackburn debut against Chelsea at Ewood.

Rovers are desperate for a result to ease the pressure at the bottom after a run of just one win from their last seven games.

But Gray believes his new team-mates have what it takes to stun Claudio Ranieri's title-chasers, even though they have badly underachieved so far.

"After last season, the expectations were very, very high and when you don't reach them people get a little bit disappointed," added the former England man.

"But you can see there's great character in the dressing room. Everyone was buzzing in training yesterday, which is good for myself, and I felt as though I've fitted in really well so far.

"Now we've got to concentrate on the Chelsea game.

"We all know how much money they've spent in the summer and where they are in the league.

"They are one of the big three so it's going to be a tough game but we are the home side and we've got to make it difficult for them to play their attacking football.

"We've got to try to take the game to them."