MARK Hughes will tell his players we can push for the Champions League' when he spells out his plans for the new season in a special team meeting today.

The bullish Rovers boss was met with disbelieving looks when he set his squad the challenge of qualifying for Europe in a similar briefing at the start of last season.

Now 12 months on, Rovers go into the new campaign as a top-six side and Hughes is ready to throw down the gauntlet once again, this time setting the target of a top four spot for his new-look team, who face Portsmouth at Fratton Park tomorrow.

Asked if a club like Blackburn can break the big four's dominance at the top of the Premiership, an upbeat Hughes responded: "It becomes more and more difficult to get anywhere near that level.

"I think there will always be a club outside the ones people usually associate with Champions League football that makes a run at it.

"We had a go last year, and we hope we can have a go at it again this season as well."

That may sound like a tall order but Hughes performed a minor miracle last season when he successfully transformed Rovers from relegation contenders into European qualifiers.

Now the Rovers chief is looking to raise the bar again, although he accepts his players will have their work cut out in meeting his new demands as the pressure on them to deliver is greater than at any previous point during his two-year tenure.

"We were sixth last year and if we can get anywhere near that again then we'll be delighted," said Hughes.

"I think it's going to be more difficult this year because there's more expectation on us, and other teams have invested heavily as well.

"But we're looking to make sure we don't slip from the level that we set ourselves last year.

"That was a real benchmark for us. We've proved we are capable of being a top six side, so now we've got to make sure we sustain that.

"We've been here only a short time in football terms, but we're certainly progressing and we don't want to start taking a backward step now."

Hughes has certainly managed to lift the gloom that briefly descended when Craig Bellamy quit for Liverpool earlier in the summer by signing Jason Roberts and Benni McCarthy, who showed encouraging signs of developing a promising partnership in last week's friendly with New Zealand.

With those two up front to spearhead a new-look attack, Hughes claims Rovers are now a better equipped team than the one that finished last season so impressively.

"We always said it was important people didn't think we were a one man team last season, which we certainly weren't," said the Welshman.

"We lost Craig for a number of games and still won Premier League matches.

"Ideally, it would have been easier this summer if we'd kept him because I possibly wouldn't have been looking for quite as many players.

"But as soon as he went, that was the end of a period in my view, and I just moved on and got on with the job of making sure the club was as strong as it could be, which I think I've done."

One concern for Hughes going into tomorrow's game against Portsmouth is the fitness of Steven Reid.

The midfielder sustained heavy bruising to his ankle during the Republic of Ireland's friendly with Holland on Wednesday night and is rated as doubtful.