"Scunthorpe made it very difficult for us in the first half to get the ball down and play," said Gary McAllister after yesterday's game.

"All the players here are aware of the ambitions of this club this season, but that first 45 minutes was a reminder to us that we might be favourites, but nothing is going to be easy in this division. It was only in the second half that we finally won the right to play. We created a lot of good chances and in the end I thought we deserved to win. It was important for us to get up and running on the opening day, but it's only the first step in what is going to be a monster season."