John Eustace is confident Blackburn Rovers can build long-term to compete at the right end of the Championship table.

Rovers finished 19th last season, a large drop-off from their seventh-placed finish the campaign before. It was a season where Rovers had to withstand financial problems and with a thin and youthful squad, they were almost relegated.

The impending sale of Sam Gallagher and the likely exit of Sam Szmodics has left fans questioning what the long-term future holds for the club. Adam Wharton departed in January and, at the time of writing, Rovers haven't reinvested back into their squad.

However, Eustace is confident that Rovers can match his ambitions. The head coach has spoken on numerous occasions about 'building a football club' over several years to be competitive at the top end of the Championship.

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"I came here first and foremost to keep the club in the league," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire in an extensive sit-down interview.

"I remember speaking to Steve (Waggott) about the ambition of the club and how we wanted to grow and build properly. That ticked all my boxes.

"Now we're in the middle of bringing in five or six really good players that can help us do that. I want to be here, be successful and I want to see this team and club grow over the next couple of years."

The example of Luton Town was brought up as an example of a club that can beat the gravitation pull of budgets at this level. The Hatters may have been relegated from the Premier League last season but their success was a beacon of hope for those striving for a top-flight fairytale promotion.

Eustace insists that case studies, such as the Hatters, rarely come to fruition by chance. It's meticulous planning over several years which requires investment, clever recruitment and a unified goal.

"I've been in the league for nearly 25 years really and I've got great experience of the Championship," he said.

"I know what wins, I know what doesn't win and what teams you have to be to be successful. I've gained a lot of vital experience and I took a lot from my time playing.

"I think it shows that the Championship is very difficult to get out of. A lot of money is being spent by a lot of the teams now, the teams promoted from League One have got high budgets as well.

"They come in being competitive and the league is getting tougher, for sure. To stay up last season on 53 points shows that.

"Leeds missed out on automatic promotion on 90-odd points shows that too. Normally they'd have got promoted with that number of points. It shows how competitive it is. It's getting stronger.

"It's very evident that the likes of Luton get promoted because they built over three or four seasons. It wasn't like 'little old Luton' got a team together in pre-season and got promoted.

"They got promoted because they built properly. Their recruitment was excellent, they were building towards something; a three, four, five-year process to get to where they wanted to get to.

"If you build a football club properly, invest properly and you have good people involved, you can be a success. It's not short-term but you'll then get long-term benefits and promotion."