John Eustace believes Blackburn Rovers have carried momentum from last season after their unbeaten start to the Championship season.

Only five teams in the division are yet to taste defeat in the first four league games. The spirit and character displayed in the early weeks by Rovers has impressed supporters.

None more so than the battling performance at Burnley, defending for their lives with ten men for half an hour. Many would argue that it's a scenario they'd have crumbled in last year.

However, this a new Blackburn Rovers. Already, they have collected five points from losing positions, having fallen behind during the last three games but avoiding defeat. It points to a renewed resilience and spirit, which Eustace believes was laid in the final throws of 2023/24 as they avoided relegation.

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"It comes from last season, we were dead and buried when we came in," he told The Lancashire Telegraph.

"We installed that fighting spirit for the last 18 games. Ok, we didn't win enough games but we didn't lose many. Five out of the 18, I think.

"We have continued the good work that we did last year. It's about getting momentum, togetherness, which we had last year with some very good results at the end of the season.

"We've worked very hard through pre-season and you can see the togetherness in the group coming out in that first four games. Now we have more quality in the group, especially in the forward areas.

"It was a setback to concede early but we have come from behind already this season. We knew the first 20 minutes would be hostile and they play with a high tempo.

"We great into the game and scored a fantastic goal. It's great to see this fantastic start."

Eustace had no real complaints about the fact Rovers were down to ten men. Makhtar Gueye was shown a second yellow for waving an imaginary card at the referee.

Despite thinking the officials were poor, the Rovers head coach didn't take much umbrage with the decision. What frustrated him more was the lack of consistency in the punishments throughout the game, such as the initial foul on Gueye by the Burnley defender.

The 26-year-old is now suspended for their match against Bristol City after the break which will be a learning curve for the forward.

"He will have to learn what the Championship is all about. He's come from different leagues in Europe," he said.

"He's got to learn that he can't do that. I thought his performance for an hour was very good. He is learning about us and the league every day. 

"You have to expect bumps in the road and he will come back from this, no problem."

"It wasn't just the last half an hour, I thought we defended so well from the first minute," he added on the defensive performance.

"You come here against a team with so much Premier League quality. It will always be very difficult. You lose your left-back before the game and Owen Beck comes in, outstanding once he'd got to grips with it.

"Makhtar's first taste of it, Lewis Baker coming on and having to play out of position. The whole performance of the whole group was very pleasing."