The month of February has killed off, or at least dealt bitter blows, to Rovers’ play-off aspirations of seasons gone by.

Yet this month has given the latest bid renewed momentum.

There has been understandable caution among supporters regarding the position Rovers find themselves in based on the inconsistency they have seen from their side, but also previous, recent experience.

Jon Dahl Tomasson has continued to play down expectations, but was rightly proud of his squad as they made it three wins in a row, a run of form he knows will only see confidence grow within his young group.

There looks to be a steely determination within the side, and the way Rovers managed the closing stages was just as impressive as the three, well-worked goals they scored.

Falling away last season will be fresh in the minds of supporters.

While they can’t affect things, the players certainly can, and those part of the class of 2021/22 should use that to fuel their fire in the remaining 12 games and not let this latest opportunity slip.

When Rovers did fall away last season, you were left thinking when that next chance could come.

They have had to wait only a matter of months, and despite the squad showing signs of creaking, their spirit does not.

With seven of their remaining 12 games being at Ewood Park, where they have enjoyed such a fine record so far, it feels very much in their hands. 

Rovers rediscovered their clinical edge at QPR and added it to their dogged determination, a combination that has worked so well across the course of the season

If claiming a point from a losing position at West Bromwich Albion was a key moment in the season, this latest win represented a first time in which the opposition have equalised, and then Rovers have gone on to retake the lead.

This too was the first time that Rovers have scored more than once in a league game since the December triumph at Norwich City. That was also the last away win, and also the most recent time in which they have won by more than a one-goal margin.

Sam Gallagher ending his four-month wait for a goal will be a big boost to his confidence, while Rovers look a much better side with Lewis Travis and John Buckley at their best.

Both have had seen their confidence take a hit at different stages of the season, one the pair would have expected to feature much more than they have, but they remain pivotal to this side.

It should be noted this was a QPR side who had won only once in their previous 18 games, and by the end looked woefully short on confidence.

But for much of the first half, a crowd buoyed by the appointment of Gareth Ainsworth, who kicked and headed every ball on the touchline, were fully behind their side.

That made this a much tougher assignment for Rovers than it might otherwise have been.

There was the potential that having lost their lead, and Loftus Road finding its voice, that Rovers would find it difficult to regain the momentum.

That was why a second goal on the stroke of half time was so crucial. Travis’ fine reverse pass slipped in Sam Szmodics who rolled the ball under the advancing Seny Dieng.

That also ended his four-month wait for a goal, and in the absence of Bradley Dack, will be a real shot in the arm for the summer signing making only his second start since the start of December.

That goal was the boost Rovers needed to take into a second half from which they never looked back.

The third goal was a moment of genius from Joe Rankin-Costello, whose crossfield pass in the first half also helped set up by Gallagher’s first.

On that occasion it was Tyrhys Dolan’s shot that was deflected into Gallagher’s path for him to head home, but this was all of Rankin-Costello’s own inspiration as he wriggled free of two defenders with one drag of the ball to square for Rovers’ No.9 to slide home.

Thereafter, 'olé' was the cry from the away end as Rovers kept the ball away from danger, and if any team was going to score again, it wasn’t Rangers.

The only downside of the afternoon was the goal conceded, as Tim Iroegbanum equalised for the hosts 10 minutes after Gallagher’s opener. Osman Kakay had proven to be a tricky customer getting forward from right back, and as Rovers failed to clear his cross, the on-loan Villa man had the easy task of slotting the ball into the empty net.

Responding to setbacks has been an issue for Rovers present and past.

Yet Aynsley Pears went through 90 minutes without barely a save to make.

Though while Rovers were more than deserving winners, it’s impossible to look beyond Szmodics’ goal as not being the pivotal moment that turned the game in their favour.

Rovers were in cruise control for the final half an hour, an indicator of how crucial a two-goal margin can be.

It took any potential fine margins out of the game, as they eased over the finish line, keeping enough in reserve to go again in the FA Cup fifth round tie at Leicester City on Tuesday night.

A place in the FA Cup quarter finals is up for grabs, but like the Carabao Cup tie with Nottingham Forest in December, it feels a shame that such games have come at times when Rovers’ schedule has been so packed.

The game won’t get the build-up it deserves, and the team Rovers likely put out not reflective of its importance.

But that is for another day, and many more big occasions may well lie ahead this season and beyond.

For the here and now, they are going along nicely, with this no forgettable February, but one that leaves them in fine fettle.