SAFETY first is the message from Ewood as Blackburn Rovers gear up for their Premiership return.

The last time Rovers clinched promotion to the top-flight they soared to a fourth place finish under Kenny Dalglish in 1993, en route to winning the championship two years later.

However, times have changed and assistant boss Tony Parkes insists that the club will only look to such lofty heights once they've safeguarded their new-found status.

Parkes said: "We've got to be as positive as we can but we've got to be realistic about it. Nobody at the club is going to say we're going to win the championship.

"Obviously we'll try and get as many points as we can and finish as high as we can. I'd like to think we'd be good enough to stay in the league, but it's not easy for the three clubs who come up to stay up.

"We want to make sure we stay in the Premiership, but positions alter through the season. If we can start strongly it means we can look at doing better than that and finishing mid-table or in the top 10. That's how it goes.

"But initially people would say we are looking to stay in the Premiership. That's a common-sense view, although as the season goes on things might change."

Parkes worked under Dalglish when big-spending Blackburn took the Premiership by storm last time.

However, despite their still impressive spending power Rovers no longer dominate the top end of the transfer market, with Manchester United ready to break the British transfer record for the second time this summer with their move for Lazio's Argentinian midfielder Juan Sebastien Veron.

And Parkes admits that the Premiership has moved on during Blackburn's enforced absence in the Nationwide League. He added: "It's vastly different, the way prices have gone up. You've only got to look at people like Sol Campbell.

"That kind of money and wages used to be reserved for special strikers and goal-scorers, not centre-backs.

"When we were in the Premier League last time there was only really Manchester United as they are now. Even Liverpool weren't as big as they are now and you've got Leeds and Chelsea who are big clubs with big squads.

"Last time we went up we chased Manchester United and finished fourth, second and then won the championship, but the top six have got huge."