Cardiff Blues kick-off their campaign with a visit from Edinburgh on Saturday and Wilson has called for the region to build on their impressive finish to the 2015/16 season.
Wilson’s side won 11 of final 14 games in all competitions but it wasn’t enough to force their way into the top six.
Only the Scarlets of the four Welsh regions will be featuring in this season’s Champions Cup and Wilson is desperate to address that issue.
“If we can go one better than last season and get into the top six that is where the big games are and that is where the Champions Cup places are,” said Wilson.
“We know how difficult that is going to be given the strength of the teams in this league.
“It is a very big ask but if we can build and become a contender for top four then great.
“This doesn’t happen overnight, it is slowly, but surely.
“We are hoping to build on the foundation we laid last season. We need more of a Welsh representation in the Champions Cup and getting it right in the league is how we do that.”
Wilson confirmed that Wales internationals Gethin Jenkins and Gareth Anscombe will be available for selection but Sam Warburton won’t be in action until week two at the earliest.
It will be Jenkins’ 17th consecutive season of top flight rugby.
Wilson added: “All our internationals have only been back a short period of time and so we have tried to make sure that our senior players get a bit of a pre-season so they don’t go from playing to a short break and playing again.”
