JASON Roberts believes Blackburn Rovers have the momentum to ‘come flying out of the traps’ in 2011/12 after they were handed an encouraging start to the Premier League season.

Rovers host Wolves at Ewood Park in their opening game on Saturday, August 13 - the same club they defeated at Molineux in last month’s crucial final match of the 2010/11 campaign, when both clubs eventually survived in the top flight.

Steve Kean’s team then travel to Aston Villa and Fulham either side of a home game against Everton, with their first match against what appears to be the Premier League’s recognised top six arriving on September 17 when Arsenal visit Ewood.

Rovers’ 3-2 win at Wolves on the final day saw them finish a difficult season on a high note, as they took 10 points from their final four matches.

And Roberts, scorer of the opening goal at Molineux, told the Lancashire Telegraph he feels confident they can pick up where they left off.

“I think it was meant to be that we’re playing Wolves,” said the striker, who is currently on a summer break on the Caribbean island of Grenada.

“We were celebrating together with Wolves after we both survived on the last day of the season, but I’m looking forward to renewing our rivalry.

“Those first few games will be hard games, though. Aston Villa away, Fulham away, they are tough games.

“There’s no doubt it’s important to make a good start but we certainly won’t be the only club thinking that.

“Hopefully we can start in the same vein we finished last season.

“We will go into the games full of confidence after the way we finished the season and I think we will come back, have a good pre-season look to start the season with same momentum we ended last season with.

“I think we’ll come flying out of the traps.”

Rovers beat Wolves 5-1 at Ewood on the opening day of the 2003/04 season and Kean is similarly hopeful of making a flying start to the new campaign.

“To be at home is great and obviously a little unusual to be pitched up against the team we played on the final day of last season - a similar result would do very nicely!” said the Rovers boss.

“We finished on a real high in May and we want to hit the same levels from the word go next season.

“It is great for the fans that we are at home first and we have to make the most of it.”

Rovers travel Liverpool on Boxing Day and Manchester United on New Year’s Eve before ending their season at Chelsea on May 13 - a week after being scheduled to host Wigan on the same weekend as the FA Cup final.

Their home match against Tottenham on October 22 could be put back a day to Sunday if Harry Redknapp’s side reach the Europa League group stage.

But it could yet be how Rovers start the season that proves all important and former Blackburn striker Kevin Gallacher said: “It’s quite a decent run of games to start off with.

“It gives them a good opportunity to get off to a good start because there are a few winnable games there.”

With Kean now back from India, Rovers are set to step up their hunt for new signings in the next few days and a representative of the Brazilian arm of owners Venky’s is understood to have arrived in England to discuss possible targets in South America, with midfielders and strikers thought to be the main positions on the agenda.

18-year-old striker Toni Vastic, the son of former Austrian international Ivica Vastic, may be set to leave Blackburn’s academy and secure a big move to Bayern Munich.

Vastic made one substitute appearance for the reserves during 2010/11 and scored six goals for the youth team.

"The transfer is fairly certain, though still not 100 per cent settled,” said his agent Sascha Empacher.

“We are still waiting for Blackburn Rovers to agree to release him.”