BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness today called on Irish wing-wizard Damien Duff to take the Premier League by storm as Rovers prepare to announce their return to the big time.

With just two days to go before the big kick-off at Derby, Souness is looking to all his young players to stand up and be counted as they get ready to face the biggest challenge of their careers.

And for the likes of Duff in particular, who scored in the Republic's 2-2 friendly draw over Croatia last night, this is his chance to go out and prove he can perform consistently at the highest level.

"For someone like Damien, who's flirted with the Premier League before, this is a very big season for him," said Souness.

"He's one of several youngsters we have who have played in the top-flight but not on a regular basis.

"So he will want to prove and establish himself as a main player in the Premier League and I believe he certainly has the ability to do that.

"He's got something which is rare in the game. He's someone who can take people on and dribble past people with pace.

"And the encouraging thing for me is he's currently the fittest he's probably ever been since he's been at this football club.

"So the stage is set for him to become a real star next year if he wants to."

After all the hype since Rovers clinched promotion back in May, the reality of returning to the top flight is now starting to hit home.

But, despite being boosted by Sunday's impressive 3-2 victory over Barcelona at Ewood, Souness is being bluntly realistic about the challenges which lie ahead.

"Success for us this season would be to make sure that every week is not a struggle," said Souness.

"I don't want to go home feeling miserable every Saturday, my players don't want to feel miserable and neither do the fans.

"I want to enjoy my work, I want the players to enjoy their work and I want the supporters to be able to go into the pub on a Saturday night and be able to enjoy their pint.

"I'm realistic enough to know we are going to get our nose bloodied on occasions over the next nine months.

"But we have to accept that because we are in with the big boys now and it's how we deal with that.

"We've got to roll our sleeves up and show we want to be successful even more.

"I'm happy with the way our preparations have gone but pre-season friendlies are notorious for two things -- they either make you think you've got a really good team or they make you think you've got something seriously wrong.

"So I don't hold too much store by friendly results because they are never an accurate guide of how you are going to fare once the serious stuff starts."

One man who may not feature, though, is Alan Mahon who today admitted he needs more games before he's fully match fit.

The Republic of Ireland international is currently on his way back from knee and Achilles injuries and, though he stepped up his comeback in the reserves on Tuesday, he's still short of overall fitness.

"It's important to get in as many games as possible now," said Mahon. "I probably still need a couple of reserve games yet so they can't come quickly enough for me at the moment.

"So I've just got to keep plugging away in training and, hopefully, I'll get back as quickly as possible."

* Reserve team striker Ben Burgess has joined Brentford on a one month loan.