At last, it’s here and (by the time this is published) Rovers will have hopefully kicked off the new campaign with a win. I’ve been open in this column and on the Arte et Labore podcast that it’s taken me a while to warm up to the new season – mainly fuelled by concerns about off-field matters. But there’s nothing like watching Rovers live and a trip to Stockport last Friday was the shot in the arm I needed.

Yes, it was only a pre-season match against League One opposition, and I still reserve doubts about the forward line – especially if we lose Sammie Szmodics. But what I saw in that friendly gave me real confidence that Rovers will have enough to stay in the division and stay clear of the bottom three.

I thought John Eustace used the friendly very intelligently. An injury doubt over Ryan Hedges aside, I expect the side that started at Stockport to start against Derby too. Eustace essentially replicated a Championship league game with both personnel and formation - plus gave new strikers Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Ohashi a valuable half each.

From what I saw, Rovers this season are going to be tough to beat first and foremost. We were well organised at the back, and with Lewis Travis and Sondre Tronstad in central midfield, compact in the middle of the park. We also looked relatively comfortable playing that way and didn’t really afford Stockport many opportunities. It’s that which has given me my renewed outlook on Rovers - I fancy us to nick more points by grinding out spirited draws on the road or holding onto precious leads.

On the latter however, it’s very evident that goals, and more specifically scoring the first goal, will also be critical for Rovers this season. At times on Friday, I thought we lacked some creativity, especially in the centre of the park – so chances could be a premium in some games. With three weeks or so remaining in the transfer window, that remains an area to address. However, in Gueye and Ohashi, I do think we’ve got two strikers that will allow us to play two different ways which could be extremely useful.  

Gueye is the traditional ‘handful’ at this level with his tall, gangly frame. But he showed a commendable ability to hold the ball up, and a great turn of pace to get into the box once laying it off. If we can supply good ammunition into the box, he could be a real threat in the air. The rumour is that Rudy Gestede recommended him, and you can see the similarities for sure!

Ohashi showed he can play off the shoulder of the last defender or, as he did more regularly, dropped deeper to receive the ball and allowed midfield runners to break forward. Arnor Sigurdsson was probably the only one who tuned into that, but it’s one for the likes of Hedges, Joe Rankin-Costello and Tyrhys Dolan to take note of for sure. It was a good start for both Ohashi and Gueye, but Championship goals is ultimately how they must be judged.

The other signings of Danny Batth, Kyle McFadzean and Andi Weimann are also very clever – all three bring plenty of Championship experience to help us nick those points and support a squad that’s recently been labelled as too soft. But the squad does feel stretched in some areas, especially left back and goalkeeper, so I hope the signings haven’t stopped there.

On the outgoings, the situation with Szmodics needs resolution soon. We can’t have that dragging on over the rest of the window, especially if we are reliant on some of the cash for the rest of our summer business. Hopefully there is some form of deadline being worked to and, if the move doesn’t materialise, we integrate Sammie back into the squad. I also wish Sam Gallagher the very best for the rest of his career. He never quite hit the heights that the reported £5 million price-tag might have dictated. But just shy of 200 appearances for Rovers is a very notable contribution.

So here we are again; one down and forty-five to go. Please can we not leave it until the second half of the last game this time Rovers? Strap in everyone!