EWOOD enforcer Garry Flitcroft today threw down the gauntlet in the scramble for midfield places by insisting: 'I won't give up my shirt without a fight.'

The tough-tackling skipper formed a powerful alliance with England Under 21 international David Dunn in midfield last season as Rovers roared back into the Premiership in style.

But the subsequent arrival of Turkish international Tugay from Rangers over the summer has now left manager Graeme Souness with a welcome headache.

And Flitcroft is relishing the chance to prove to the boss that he deserves to get the nod.

"I remember when me, Tim Sherwood and Billy McKinlay were all fighting for two places under Roy Hodgson and it ended up with me playing a lot more games than Billy, so it's never bothered me before and it won't bother me now," said Flitcroft.x

"When you're in the Premiership you've got to have competition for places so I'll just keep doing my best and, hopefully, get the nod.

"But I don't think it's a case of me and Dunny playing for the one place, it may just mean we have to play in different roles, which we can both adapt to anyway.

"I don't know what's going to happen yet because I don't know what the gaffer's got in mind.

"Last season I was playing a sitting role which is where Tugay likes to play so that's enabled me to get forward more in pre-season games. "But we'll just have to wait and see how the manager wants to play it."

So far, Souness has kept his cards close to his chest as to which of the three will start at Derby when the new season gets underway on August 18.

But, regardless of what happens at Pride Park, Souness now has the option of picking different combinations for different games -- a luxury he did not have at his disposal for most of last season.

"All three of them are central midfield players and my attention is to only use two of them at any given period," said Souness.

"But competition for places is a healthy thing and each game is going to be different.

"Some games we'll be able to go a bit more attack-minded which would mean us going with a certain two.

"Or there might be times where we'll try to bottle things up.

"So it's going to be a long, hard season and, though I don't want to use the word rotation because I don't like that word, we are certainly going to need a strong squad to see us through."

One option open to the manager would be to pair Flitcroft and Tugay in the centre, with Dunn utilised wide on the right -- a tactic Souness used in the first half at Wrexham.

"Nothing's ruled out at this stage," added Souness.

"We've talked about how well Keith Gillespie has done and we've talked about how well Tugay has done.

"But it's only pre-season. Let's get to Christmas time and then see who's doing well and who's not doing so well."

Meanwhile, Flitcroft insists Rovers have what it takes to survive in the Premiership next season -- because of the arrival of new boys Tugay and Corrado Grabbi.

"It's going to be a massive step up from the First Division but I believe our squad can adapt to that," said Flitcroft.

"We've already got a couple of new additions and I'm sure the manager will probably make some more so there's no reason why we can't hold our own in there. "We've got lads with experience and a lot of young talent as well.

"And it's up to the young lads to adapt to coming into this league while the experienced players have got to try and help them through it.

"There's a lot of good sides in the Premiership and the teams that come up do tend to struggle a little bit.

"But I think we've got the team and the ability to stay there because, first and foremost, our priority has got to be survival."

Souness is still looking to sign a left-sided defender before the season starts a fortnight today.

So far, he's had bids for Liverpool's Djimi Traore and Birmingham's Martin Grainger rejected.

But he will continue to scour the European markets for a suitable alternative and he has not given up hope of bringing in a new face at some point in the next two weeks.

"I think between now and the start of the season might be the busiest time for transfers because managers have looked at their squads and realised they need certain things," said Souness.

"They've started to play games and either their worst fears have been realised or they've been delighted with the progress of a youngster coming through the squad which may allow them to sell someone they probably previously would have held on to.

"So you never know."