John Eustace insists the Rovers squad are “together and committed” and hopes it will stand them in good stead for the run-in.

Eustace’s side are 10 points away from their initial target of 50 with 10 games still to play before the end of the season.

The head coach reckons there have been positives to take from the performances since his arrival at Ewood Park and is eager to keep progressing.

“We have gone three home games unbeaten for the first time this season, which I think is a massive plus,” he said.

“The performances of the players who have come in have been excellent. In the last four games, the xG against has been the best it has all season.

“We have come from behind in three games, which we hadn’t been doing before. We had to stop conceding goals and now we are a bit more solid, which is very evident.

“I think it is important that everyone is really positive about the situation we are in and not to be negative about things.

“I can see the squad is together and the fans have been magnificent since we have come in.

“It is very important that whatever happens – win, lose or draw – everyone is fully committed to keeping this team in the league and let’s be positive.”

The Rovers boss is hoping for one last push from his players against the Pilgrims before the fixture list starts to ease up a little and gives them a chance to recharge their batteries.

“We will have to look at it and assess who is fit and available,” he continued. “It is not just Callum (Brittain) who is struggling, the boys have played about eight games in 24 days which is ridiculous really.

“A lot of them have been playing through a lot of minutes where they are not up to speed with it, so they have had to keep going through the barriers.

“The commitment and desire of every single player up to now has been fantastic. We have been down in a few games and come back which we hadn’t been doing before.

“There are lots of positives from the squad. It is about the squad and everyone is fully committed to turning those draws into wins.”

Sam Szmodics scored the equaliser against Millwall in midweek, taking his total for the season to 26 goals in all competitions.

Eustace is wary of relying too heavily on the attacking midfielder but admits it can be difficult to develop in the final third without proper time on the training pitch.

“The stats show that but we haven’t had any training days,” he explained. “It is very hard to make that into goals when you are playing a game every three days and the lads can’t train.

“We have to be realistic on where we are and keep working hard. Hopefully, in the games when we get the opportunities, we can take a few more chances.”