EWOOD number one Brad Friedel wants to stay at Blackburn Rovers for the rest of his career.

The 34-year-old American, who was once a target for Manchester United, has already held preliminary talks with Rovers about a new long-term contract.

Now the former United States international hopes a deal can be thrashed out in the next few weeks, leaving him free to concentrate on the job of helping to re-establish Rovers as a top 10 Premiership force.

Speaking exclusively to the Evening Telegraph at Rovers' training base in Germany, Friedel said: "I'd love to finish my career at Blackburn and there's no reason for me not to.

"Both the club and myself seem to have been quite pleased with each other over the years so, hopefully, we can sort something out.

"If the deal's going to get struck then I'd like it done before the season starts because I don't really like negotiating during the season, I want to be able to concentrate solely on my football.

"When you're coming to the end of contracts, it's important at my age to know what you're doing because it's difficult moving house and uprooting kids.

"So hopefully things will get sorted out before the start of the season.

"I'd love to stay at the club because I've had a great time here and I see more good times ahead."

Friedel's existing contract with Rovers is due to run out at the end of the season, but the

former Liverpool star wants another two years on top of that, by which point he would be 37.

He's still regarded as one of the top keepers in the Premiership and his form during the second half of last season, when he kept 17 clean sheets in 31 games, was instrumental in helping Rovers beat the drop.

Now the 6ft 3in stopper believes the team are capable of making an impact at the top end of the table following the summer signings of Craig Bellamy and Shefki Kuqi.

Friedel added: "The staff are young and very ambitious here.

"I know that money for new players is quite tight at the moment, but Mark Hughes and his coaching staff really turned things around last season, particularly defensively.

"Since then we've also added two players up front. One (Bellamy) is outstanding and very, very fast and he's certain to cause problems.

"And the other (Kuqi) will cause problems in a different kind of way because he's so good in the air.

"So, hopefully, with the addition of those players, and the defensive base we already have, we can start turning some of the home draws we had last season into wins, and begin challenging in the top half of the table."

Rovers will step up their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Spanish side Real Mallorca in the Austrian town of Kirchdorf tonight.

Robbie Savage may make his first appearance since undergoing a groin injury at the beginning of the summer after coming through a couple of training sessions unscathed.

But Paul Dickov is struggling to shake off a minor thigh strain, and Bellamy didn't train yesterday after picking up a slight knock in Saturday's 1-1 draw friendly with 1860 Munich.