NEW London Irish fly half Stephen Myler has spoken of the threat posed by some ‘very competitive’ Greene King IPA Championship sides.

Exiles will be hoping to bounce back to the Premiership at the first time of asking following last season’s relegation, but Myler revealed he has spoken to Bedford coach and former Saints teammate Lee Dickson ahead of the new season.

He commented: “I’ve spoken to Lee and his Bedford side will be a threat this season, while Ealing have lots of ex-Saints players as well, so it’s not going to be easy.

“Our aim is to go up, but it’ll take lots of effort because the Championship has different challenges and we’ll need to cope with what’s thrown at us.

“If we focus on that and be flexible in how we respond, I’ve got full confidence we have the squad to do it.”

He continued: “You’ve got some very competitive teams in the Championship now and it’s way different to what I found during my first full season at Saints.

“That season helped me a lot in terms of getting to learn the game properly, but the league is a lot more professional now and teams are improving all the time.

“When I met (director of rugby) Declan Kidney and (head coach) Les Kiss I saw there was work to do, but it felt like I could play a part and I’m excited about this new challenge.”

Meanwhile, Scottish prop Gordon Reid is hoping Exiles can reward their fans' loyalty.

He reflected: “When you have the tremendous support that we have behind us, driving us through, it makes such a difference.

“We have a bunch of boys here that want to fight for each other and willing to improve and do well.”

Irish play their first pre-season game at Munster on Saturday, August 17, before travelling to Leicester Tigers the following week.

They open their league campaign at promotion rivals Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday, September 1.