THE pressure is on at Ewood Park this season as Blackburn Rovers’ coaching staff do their best to ensure everything has been done to prepare the squad for the ‘toughest league in the world’.

That is the view of the newest member of Rovers’ coaching staff, Steve Kean, who is relishing his return to the Premier League after two years away from the spotlight.

The former Fulham, Real Sociedad and Coventry assistant boss, replaced Karl Robinson as first team coach at Ewood this summer and admits the pressure is never off.

Kean said: “It is a viscous league and if you find yourself in a rut and have a couple of bad results then look at the fixture list – it is a very unforgiving league.

“I think it is important you get momentum and you keep working hard on the training ground. Because when things go the way you want them to go and there is winning mentality, that is very important.

“I am sure the lads will feel that because the manager has been at them all the time. He said something that hit home. He said ‘for the lads who don’t know me you are going to have aggressive coaching this year’.

“He said because it is an aggressive league and I will put them under pressure every day because on a Saturday they will be put under pressure come 3pm. That hit home.

“We have to put the players under pressure because there are a lot of important decisions to be made in that league.

“I look at the way the squad is shaping up and the intensity of the lads and I think it is a really exciting time.”

While the work on the training field is obviously vital in the results come Saturday afternoon, Kean believes the work performed behind the scenes is equally as important.

Rovers already have the reputation as having one of the best training facilities in the Premier League, with staff dedicated to the likes of ProZone, nutrition, and sports science.

Kean said: “You get long term injuries and they are hard to overcome but with the sports science and medical people and the way we go about things, we are trying to make sure the trainability of each player they are available for each session and for the manager on Saturday.

“If we can keep everyone fit, the science is making sure people are hydrated and they keep their levels up and we might get the nod that someone has got a virus coming on because of the stringent tests that are put on every day and we will take them out for a few days to prevent an injury.

“Protecting the players from themselves is an important as training because they all want to train and all want to play on a Saturday.

“But you have to look at the pro zone stats and see if they are tailing off. All the staff are experts in their own field and if we can drop them out and keep the players healthy that is very important.”