ROVERS boss Graeme Souness warned fans not to raise their expectations too high as the countdown to the new season starts in earnest.

Fans are already looking forward to the beginning of next term after the Premiership fixtures were unveiled yesterday.

But Souness is well aware that his side will have to pull out all the stops to match last season's magnificent top six finish.

And he has pointed to clubs like Sunderland and Ipswich as classic examples of what can happen if you suddenly take your eye off the ball.

"From the moment we finished sixth last season our supporters began to think we could do even better this time around and I don't blame them for that," said Souness.

"But that's a tough, tough call given the quality of the teams who finished above us.

"I can tell you now we'll be starting next season with the main aim of trying to get 40 points on the board as quickly as possible and if we achieve that, then we can start thinking about trying to get as many points as we did last season.

"I know the fans probably won't like me saying that because they'll see it as being negative but it's my job to be realistic.

"Just look what's happened to clubs like Ipswich, Sunderland and West Ham. In the past couple of years, all three of those clubs have finished in the top seven and look where they are now.

"So the danger signs are there for us all to see and that's how it has to be.

"The moment you start thinking you're a good player, you get kicked where it hurts. And the same applies when you start to think you're a decent manager or a player.

"At the end of the day, you never stop learning in this game and it would be foolish to think anything else."

Rovers will kick off the new campaign with a home game against Wolves on August 16 before heading to Bolton for a Lancashire derby the weekend after.