WELL, here we go again - the Premiership is back.
Rovers get underway against West Ham tomorrow and I think we've got a good chance of getting a result.
When the fixtures come out you see West Ham away as your first game you've got to be looking to get something there.
It's their first game back in the Premiership so they'll be buzzing and looking to get off to a flying start.
But they're a very passionate, very demanding crowd at West Ham and if we can keep them quiet and put them under the cosh then they can soon turn on their team.
It's important we don't concede first and it'll be interesting to see how Mark sets his team up.
In my day, we didn't have big squads and the systems was just the way you played and that was it.
But now Mark will have so many options, especially in midfield. I'd like to see Savage, Pedersen, Tugay and Thompson in midfield, but as Tommo's injured I think he'll go with Emerton and I think Tugay will be used in certain games. He's a fantastic passer of a ball but as I say I think he'll be used primarily at home.
Up front, I think we'll score more goals with Kuqi and Bellamy.
With Bellamy being injured at the moment that's a big blow. He was the signing that got everybody talking and he's a fantastic footballer. It doesn't matter what he's like off the field, on the pitch he's a great player and it'll be a big loss if he misses out.
But whoever they play they need to get a result. We always wanted to win our first game as quickly as possible on the back of pre-season. I was always pleased to get back playing because in pre-season we had to do a lot of running!
It was always important to get a first win under belt and as a striker it was important to get your first goal.
And today's team won't be any different. Mark will set his team up on a game-to-game basis to look to get a result on a particlar match day.
I think he'll go with a 4-5-1 formation away from home but look to be more attacking at Ewood, which will be great for the fans.
As for a prediction, I think we'll get at least a point at Upton Park. I can't see us getting beaten and if we can get an early goal we could take all three points .
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