Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder has admitted that his side faces a "challenging" start to the new Aviva Premiership season.

The Saints open their campaign at Gloucester before matches against Exeter, Worcester, Bath, London Wasps and London Irish.

"It is a challenging start to the season for us," Mallinder told the club's official site. "Gloucester, Bath and London Irish all have new coaching teams in place and we won't know until the start of the season whether there will be any changes to the way those teams play.

"Meanwhile both Worcester and Wasps have brought in new players and improved their squads, and Exeter have established themselves as one of the top clubs in the Premiership.

"However the first weekend in September is a long way off and at the moment we are concentrating on getting the most out of pre-season."

Mallinder, who joined Northamtpon five years ago, signed a contract extension with the club in May.