FIT-AGAIN defender Shane Duffy has vowed that Blackburn Rovers’ small but tight-knit squad are sticking together after a summer of departures.

Rovers have let a host of first-team players leave since the end of the 2014-15 campaign in an effort to get their Financial Fair Play embargo lifted.

While the vast majority of those players had no futures at the club Gary Bowyer’s side will start the new campaign without key duo Tom Cairney, who was sold to fellow Championship outfit Fulham, and Rudy Gestede, who has made the step up to the Premier League with Aston Villa.

But Duffy, who is fully recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of the final three months of last season, said: “Rudy’s move has been coming for a long time and I think it’s deserved.

“Credit to him and we’re delighted for him but you move on from these things.

“You can’t let it affect you and it hasn’t here.

“We’ve got a tight group and we’re getting on with it.

“I know the fans get worried and obviously star players are getting linked away but we’ve just got to stick together, which we always do.

“We’ve lost two very good players (Cairney and Gestede) but we’ve still got quality here.

“Hopefully we can gel, and if we do play new formations and new players, it’s going to take time, and hopefully the fans will stick with us.”

Rovers boss Bowyer, who is restricted to frees and loans under the terms of the club’s embargo, has hailed the return of centre-back Duffy as ‘like a new signing’.

And the 23-year-old, who was snapped up by Bowyer on the final day of last summer’s transfer window, said: “It’s the first full pre-season I’ve had in a few years.

“At Everton I was just training and not getting enough games and when I came here I wasn’t fit.

“But now I feel good and the more game time I get, the better I will become.

“I can’t wait to get started now.”

Rovers kick-off the campaign today at home to a Wolves team who are among the favourites to win promotion.

And Duffy said: “Yes they are a good team but we are at home and we’ve got to play them some time.

“We’ll work on them all week, like we always do with every team, and hopefully we’ll give the fans something to cheer on the first day.”

But Duffy admits the long-term aim has to be promotion.

“It’s got to be, we cannot aim any lower than that,” he said.

“There are lot of good teams in this division who are spending a lot of money.

“But if we can get up there then it will make it all the more enjoyable as we can’t spend that money.”