ADAM Henley admits Blackburn Rovers are running on empty – but the in-form defender has urged his team-mates to take one more step on the gas.

Tomorrow’s Ewood Park clash with Brighton and Hove Albion will be Rovers’ 13th match in the space of seven weeks.

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Henley believes the stamina-sapping run and the lack of bodies available to boss Gary Bowyer owing to injury were factors behind Tuesday’s home loss to Brentford.

But, with the Seagulls encounter Rovers’ last for two weeks due to the international break, the right-back wants the team to sign off with a fourth victory in their last five league games.

“On Tuesday I thought we showed glimpses of what we have done in previous weeks but overall it wasn’t good enough,” said Henley, who was named man-of-the-match in the 3-2 defeat to the Bees.

“The three goals we conceded were sloppy, which hasn’t been like us, and could have been avoided.

“The whole team is running on empty. We’ve had a lot of games in a short space of time and the FA Cup run, especially, has been physically draining on a lot of the players. And, with the injuries really stretching the squad, it’s been tough.

“We are humans, not machines, it really does build up and there’s no doubt the injuries have affected us.

“But it’s credit to the players who have come in that we’ve still been getting results.

“It was disappointing on Tuesday but we can’t get too down given the way we’ve been playing.

“We’ve been keeping clean sheets, picking up three points, particularly away from home, and, as I said, we’ve had a great run in the FA Cup.

“So all we can do is recover as quickly as possible, as we have done for every game recently, and try and get three points on Saturday.

“If we can do that we can be happy with our recent return and we can look forward to the break, which I think is well deserved.”

It is a break, however, that Henley will not be able to enjoy fully.

He was speaking before he discovered he had won his first call up to the Wales squad since May 2012.

The 20-year-old will join up with his international team-mates next week before jetting out to Haifa for Wales’ crucial Euro 2016 qualifier with Israel.

It is his reward for the fantastic form he has shown since making the Rovers right-back position his own in the last month.

“I’m pleased with my own form,” said Henley, who is yet to win a full international cap.

“I’m taking it a game at a time at the moment.

“It is credit to the squad for the competition that there has been for my place throughout the season.

“I’ve used my time outside the starting XI to look at my own game and look at areas to improve, and to keep my fitness and make sure my injuries don’t reoccur.

“It’s been good to take a back seat and now I feel fit and confident and I’m really enjoying playing my football at the moment.

“I’m just taking it a game at a time and trying to improve game by game.”