Lennie Lawrence says that fans can help give the club a much-needed boost as the 2008/09 season draws ever nearer.

Rovers open the League One campaign in just over five weeks with a home clash against Carlsie United.

Season ticket prices go up after Sunday's Annual Fun Day at the Memorial Stadium, and Lennie says that fans can play a big part in bolstering the club's forthcoming season.

"All clubs make lists of players they want to sign in the close season, and we are no different," Lennie told bristolrovers.co.uk.

"Our list was very realistic, and we're delighted that we managed to get two players at the top of our list.

"If you go down to fourth or fifth on your list you run the risk of things not working out right, but we're very happy that we managed to get the players we wanted, and players that tick all of our boxes.

"We know our home form last season wasn't good enough, and Jeff Hughes and Darryl Duffy in particular will help us address that problem. We didn't lose too many home games last season, but we drew a lot of matches we shouldn't have and we need to build a team that can turn those kind of results into victories."

Rovers are spending big money on improviing the standard of the Memorial Stadium playing surface this season, something Lennie welcomes.

"I would be very surprised if with a better pitch we didn't do better than we did last season," he said, "We'll see how the pitch turns out, although I have every confidence that the money being spent on it will leave it in very good shape for us.

"Last season it was too easy for teams to come and play against us and to wait for us to make a mistake. But if we can turn that around and build a good home record then we believe we can achieve something this season."

Season ticket prices go up for Gasheads after Sunday's Annual Fun Day at the Memorial Stadium, and Lennie has a clear message to any supporters still deliberating over whether to secure their place for 2008/09.

"Our home form last season wasn't good enough, we know that, but can these signings help us turn that around - yes they can," he said, "Our away form always stands up, but our home record needs to improve if we're to challenge in this division.

"If we had gone to Cheltenham then we'd have been going into the unknown to some extent. We might have been packed out every week, but we also might have lost a lot of money and struggled.

"We're here now, at the Memorial Stadium, and we're spending some decent money on the pitch to make sure the surface is right for the year ahead. We think we're better than a 16th place finish, and we're looking to go above that this season.

"I do understand the reluctance of some fans not to buy season tickets, having heard that we're going to Cheltenham and then we're not, but we have an extra 12 months now and we have to have a go at it.

"We were tenth in the attendance table last season, which is good, but I want us to be fifth or sixth. We want as may supporters as possible to buy season tickets, so as we can do as much as possible with the squad ahead of the coming season.

"We haven't finished yet, we will want to bring in one or two more, but we need the fans behind us to give us the vocal support so as to stand the best possible chance of finishing the season in the top six places."