John Eustace is set for a baptism of fire as Blackburn Rovers boss with a crucial fortnight ahead.

The 44-year-old has replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson in the Ewood Park hot seat and if results don't pick up, that heat will certainly crank up.

Rovers have taken five points from a possible 33 in the Championship, sliding from seventh to 18th since December. Saturday's meeting against Stoke City is two out-of-form sides in desperate need of three points.

The relationship between the board and Tomasson had grown strained and a change was best for all parties. Rovers will be hoping that an injection of new ideas can help turn this squad around.

READ MORE: What to expect from John Eustace at Rovers

Eustace has plenty of credibility to succeed Tomasson. Whilst the change of guard has been protracted, the club have at least moved quickly to source Tomasson's replacement.

Fans not just in Birmingham but up and down the country were up in arms when the head coach was dismissed by Blues in October and replaced by the far more social-media-friendly Wayne Rooney. It's fair to assume Birmingham picked up more followers than points during the former Manchester United striker's reign which lasted just a few months.

Rooney's struggles make the job Eustace did age even better. He battled in tough circumstances under the previous ownership and had Birmingham sat in sixth after investment in the squad.

Eustace has experience as a firefighter. The environment at Birmingham prior to Knighthead's arrival was far from ideal. He will walk into Ewood Park with a fan base ready to support the team but still vehemently distrusting of those making decisions above the manager's head.

A caretaker spell at Queens Park Rangers which yielded seven points from seven games and kept them in the division, back in 2019. There's hope that given time to implement a perhaps more pragmatic style, Rovers will be less Jekyll and Hyde.

Under Tomasson, Rovers were a match for anyone at their best but there is no escape results were not following the performances. Then once the displays tail off, you're in trouble. There were mitigating factors and fair arguments about recruitment, budgets and financial uncertainty. Ultimately, something had to change.

There is an school of thought that Tomasson's style of football was better suited to a higher level of football. When it clicked, Rovers were a match for anyone but when it didn't, they became hazardous.

Had he been backed in the way Venky's could support Tony Mowbray, per say, he might well have taken Rovers close to the Premier League. Their ceiling was incredibly high but the floor too low for comfort after such a terrible run.

Eustace should make Rovers more solid and improve their chances of picking up points immediately. The challenge is whether he can get Rovers to the same heights as Tomasson when they were at their best.

The 44-year-old has a good record of developing young players, which will remain core to Rovers' model moving forward. Players such as George Hall, Alfie Chang and Jordan James took steps forward under his guidance. He gave minutes to Jobe Bellingham too, now playing at Sunderland.

Rovers need an instant impact. They play Stoke and Birmingham, two teams below them, in their next two. Preston North End, Cardiff City and Norwich City (H) follow. All of those are winnable games for this team as are the next three, Swansea (A), Millwall (H) and Plymouth Argyle. 

There won't be much time on the training pitch with midweek nine matches in the next month, including the Newcastle United FA Cup tie. 

When you throw all of those topics and factors into the mixing pot, I think Eustace is as good an appointment as Rovers could have realistically got in the circumstances. He is a safe pair of hands who should bring defensive improvement and organisation.

The next 10 days will go a long way in defining Blackburn Rovers' season.