Portsmouth - started with a 3-0 victoryHarry Redknapp knows he is still some way short of fielding the dream team which Sacha Gaydamak's new money has made possible at Portsmouth.
But the old campaigners whom he has managed to sign on free transfers or knock-down fees whom UEFA Cup qualifiers Blackburn into ragged Rovers will certainly do for starters.
Redknapp has upwards of £30million burning a hole in his pocket via French tycoon Gaydamak's take-over from departing chairman Milan Mandaric.
And the veteran manager, 59, who has been snubbed in a series of big-money raids for top stars like Stilian Petrov, Jermain Defoe, Curtis Davies, Nicolas Anelka and Ryan Nelsen, admits he still needs to add at least four players to his squad - and, preferably, before the transfer deadline in two weeks time.
But two headed goals by Nigeria's towering former Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu - who also missed a last-gasp penalty for his hat-trick - and a vintage performance in both penalty areas by big central defender Sol Campbell were more than enough to account comfortably for Blackburn, who contributed to their own downfall by having two of their dismal defenders sent off.
Kanu, 30, who quit West Brom at the end of last season, was labelled "an outstanding free transfer" by Redknapp who finally completed the 6ft 5in striker's signing on Thursday.
"It was just a pity he didn't get his hat-trick at the end with the penalty. It would have completed a great start to the season for us," said Redknapp.
But the Pompey boss was delighted with Kanu's performance, especially considering he had not played or even trained full out since the end of the last campaign.
And he had fulsome praise for his other new recruits Glen Johnson, the Chelsea right back on loan for the season, and goalkeeper David James, a £1.2million purchase from Manchester City.
Yet, inevitably, it was Campbell, another Highbury refugee, who received Redknapp's biggest laurels.
The former England star whose career looked over when he walked out on Arsenal in February after being substituted in disgrace at half-time against West Ham and was finally paid off from his contract by the Gunners in June despite a European Cup final goal, made a stunning Pompey debut.
And Redknapp said: "He was great today. He hasn't come here for the money. He walked away from a contract at Arsenal - God knows how many millions.
"He walked away from it for whatever reason I don't know, but he wants to play."
Campbell's mental state was questioned by critics when he turned his back on Arsenal last winter but Redknapp said: "I told him, 'You'll love it here.
"'The fans will love you, come and enjoy your football.'
"No matter what you've done in the game, if you get 20,000 people singing your name and making him feel welcome, it's got to be good for him. I don't care who you are."
Campbell, used to luxury surroundings with Tottenham, Arsenal and England, is said to have passed a few derogatory remarks about the facilities - especially lukewarm showers - when he arrived at Pompey's Spartan training ground two weeks ago.
But Redknapp said: "We've had them all at our training ground - Paul Merson, Teddy Sheringham and Patrik Berger. They have all been used to the best but this is Portsmouth and they just got on with it.
"They've roughed it but that is part of the attraction of being here, I think. I said to Sol that if Bobby Moore could sit in a dug-out at Oxford City where he was manager then we can all do it.
"Fans can't believe we've brought players of his quality after the load of crap that was brought in last pre-season.
"The team I took over here (last December) was a problem. Anyone who has followed this club will tell you it wasn't a good team. We performed a miracle scraping out of relegation, didn't we?"
Blackburn manager Mark Hughes has asked referee Alan Wiley to review Andy Todd's last-minute red card after the defender claimed he played the ball before Kanu fell from the impact of the challenge and then drove the resultant penalty straight at keeper Brad Friedel.
Hughes, who has a £4million bid in for Holland's World Cup centre half Andre Ooijer at PSV Eindhoven, is hopeful Wiley will ask the Football Association to scrub any possible suspension for Todd once he has seen the relevant video clip.
But there was no doubt Rovers were always second best - even before Lucas Neill was sent off for a second yellow card challenge on Kanu in the 66th minute.
By then the Nigerian had headed in from Matt Taylor's cross for 2-0 after substituting just two minutes earlier, on the hour, for Svetoslav Todorov who had turned in the outstanding Benjani Mwaruwari's right-wing cross midway through the first half.
Kanu headed home again from Gary O'Neil's cross seven minutes from time and Hughes, for whom new big-money strikers Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts - once a Pompey player - fired blanks, admitted: "We have to do better than this.
"It it is always hard starting the season away from home and you are on the back-foot straight away if you lose.
"We tried to ease our way into it but you cannot afford to do that at this level and we paid the price."
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