CORRY EVANS wants Blackburn to be sitting top of the Sky Bet Championship tonight and hopes that is a position they never deviate far from throughout the season.

Rovers meet Cardiff, relegated from the Premier League last year, at Ewood Park to kick off the new domestic campaign.

The top tier is a division Blackburn have not been in since 2012 but, after ending the previous season on a 12-game unbeaten run and experiencing a much-welcome summer of stability, the belief is that they can follow their Lancashire neighbours Burnley in winning promotion.

Although Rovers finished the 2013-14 season with a flourish, they ultimately left themselves too much to do when it came to creeping into the play-offs.

Evans, therefore, knows that it is crucial Gary Bowyer’s side begin on a brighter note this time.

“It sets out a marker to the league,” he said.

“We’re the first team to open the season on a Friday and, who knows, we could be sitting top of the table come Friday night.

It’s important we start with a bang.”

However, several bookmakers have Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Cardiff as favourites to win the Championship title, just as they did two seasons ago.

“I think it’s a good bet,”

Solskjaer said of the Bluebirds being tagged favourites.

“I hope so, but then again this league is tough.

There’s at least five or six that can look at themselves as candidates to go up.

“Blackburn, Fulham and Norwich – there’s at least five or six that can go up and we play a few in the first eight games.”

The Norwegian has presided over a period of change, with Federico Macheda and Adam Le Fondre signed and Fraizer Campbell, Jordan Mutch and Steven Caulker leaving.