Why Blackburn Rovers have the ‘desire’ to prove their doubters wrong
To be in fifth place going into the halfway point of the season would have made most Rovers fans grab your fingers off.
Many people wrote off the team since they didn’t have Sam Szmodics, whose goals were essential to avoiding relegation the previous season.
However, under John Eustace, Rovers have improved greatly in recent months, managing to score points on a regular basis.
The head coach praised his team’s commitment and expressed hope that they will continue “proving people wrong” in the championship.
“I think it just shows from the start of the season, everyone has to get things in perspective that we were favourites for relegation,” he said in response to a question about whether Rovers had demonstrated their play-off credentials in recent weeks.
We are not like Sunderland or the other teams that have been together for a long time, made significant investments, and have extremely interesting players. Let’s get things right.
“Our group of players is excellent and very honest. They now play some extremely entertaining football themselves, and I believe that as a team, we are growing.
However, they are dedicated and driven to continue proving others incorrect. We have done that in 22 games so far.
“The Championship is a tough league that never lets up. We simply need to continue putting in a lot of effort every day, take each game as it comes, and watch where it leads.
The late defeat at Millwall was tough to take, having finished the game with 10 men after Lewis Travis limped off, but there were no signs of a hangover on Boxing Day.
“We take each game as it comes,” Eustace added. “Last week at Millwall, I think with 11 men we see out the game, no problems.
“The last 20 minutes with 10 men – against a team who keep putting the ball in the box – eventually, something was going to give.
“I was very proud of the efforts last week – we started Amario (Cozier-Duberry), O-chan (Yuki Ohashi) and Makhtar (Gueye).
“It was good experience for them, it is about developing the group and keep learning all the time. I think we are doing that.
“Even today, Amario coming on was very good. Makhtar coming on and making a difference, Johnny Buckley coming on. It is just about our squad of players and we have a great squad here already.”
Despite their strong attacking play, Aynsley Pears’ heroic denial of Eliezer Mayenda in the closing minutes against the Black Cats was one of the game’s pivotal moments.
At the end, Pears made a huge save.”It simply demonstrates the boys’ spirit,” the head coach added. We pushed to win the game after equalising, but we lost some discipline in the process.
So far this season, Aynsley has been the best drawer. Thanks to Aynsley and the team, we have a great return with 10 clean sheets.
“I was sure that Aynsley would save it when the boy was going through one-on-one, and I’m glad he did.”
Another team that has given young players a lot of chances and is benefiting from it this season is Sunderland.
Eustace was questioned about the parallels between the club’s methods and if Rovers can use them as a “blueprint” to continue improving.
“100%. He clarified, “They had a lot of experienced players in that squad to help the young players come through even back in League One when they started that.”
“The main goal is striking the correct balance and watching those young guys improve.
“They play young players, have an excellent academy system, and are a very good football team.”
“I think we do things right here too, the way we develop our players, and it’s great that one of our own got the equaliser.” “They do things right there.”
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