BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today vowed he will not sacrifice Premier League survival for a decent run in the UEFA Cup.

Rovers were handed just the kind of draining trip Souness had feared when yesterday's first round draw in Monaco paired them with Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia.

And, though last season's Worthington Cup winners will now start the two-legged tie as the clear favourites to advance to round two, an eight-hour round trip is hardly the ideal preparation for a crunch Premiership clash with Leeds United the following weekend.

That is the main reason why the Rovers chief has hinted he will rest key members of his squad in Europe in a bid to keep them as fresh as possible for domestic action.

But Souness still has an incessant thirst for success and he will want to go as far as he feasibly can in the tournament -- as long as it is not at the expense of the club's top-flight status.

"It's not going to be an easy tie for us," said Souness.

"Bulgarian teams have some experience of playing in Europe from the past and they are usually decent sides.

"So we'll give them the respect they deserve because they can't be mugs if they've qualified for the UEFA Cup in the first place.

"Our chief scout, Terry Darracott, will go and watch them tomorrow so we'll have a better idea of their strengths on Monday.

"But at the moment, it's difficult for me to say too much because I don't know enough about them."

Nevertheless, Souness still believes English clubs will soon adopt the same attitude as their continental rivals in approaching cup competitions.

The financial problems currently being experienced by clubs in the Nationwide League in the wake of ITV Digital's demise has placed even more emphasis on the importance of hanging onto Premiership status.

And Souness is not prepared to put that in jeopardy at the expense of chasing Euro glory. "I was interested to see who we got but this year the UEFA Cup is a very poor second to the Premier League," said the Rovers chief.

"In fact I would place it behind the FA Cup in terms of importance but the league is of far greater priority than both.

"How long could we keep players like Damien Duff, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke if we ended up in the Nationwide League?

"To keep going forward we have to be in the Premier League for the next five years.

"The Premier League and its finances are of such importance now that we'll become just like they are on the continent where Cup competitions are not treated that seriously."

Rovers owe their place in Europe to a Worthington Cup final triumph over Tottenham in Cardiff.

Even with a weakened team, they should ease past the Bulgarians who are currently top of their domestic league.

And Souness has admitted that if his side can progress to the latter stages, then he will start to take things more seriously.