London - New Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce said Friday that he is optimistic of steering the Premier League club away from the relegation zone, although he warned success will not come overnight.

Blackburn have lost their last six games and failed to win any of the five before that. They lie second from bottom of the table, five points adrift of Sunderland and Manchester City, with three further teams a point ahead.

"People say that we need two wins to get out of it but that assumes the teams above you all lose. It will take a long time, perhaps six games, to catch up with the rest," Allardyce told reporters.

"But apart from (winger) David Bentley and (goalkeeper) Brad Friedel, there is no difference to the squad that finished seventh last year," he said.

"This team is capable of finishing in a mid-table position in my opinion. We need a lot of hard work and a win for confidence to grow, because confidence is the key.

Allardyce named the team physically fit but admitted to concerns on the mental side.

"The problem ... is mental tiredness - and in my experience mental tiredness does far more harm than physical tiredness. The most mentally draining thing a manager can do is living in the bottom three in the Premier League for a long period of time," he said.

Allardyce also expressed his belief that, for the first time since 2003, a team will need more than 40 points to survive. Blackburn have 13 points from 17 of 38 games. (dpa)