John Eustace was coy on whether Todd Cantwell is ready to start for Blackburn Rovers after his impressive display against Queens Park Rangers.

Rovers fans had their appetite whet on Saturday after the summer signing's 45-minute appearance from the bench. Cantwell helped inspire Rovers to a 2-0 win, keeping their seven-game unbeaten run.

Eustace admitted that the changes made against Preston the week previous were the wrong ones. They analysed the footage and he believes that contributed to the victory.

Cantwell's levels will also be monitored ahead of a busy week having also played an hour for the Under-21s last Tuesday.

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"I think possibly the changes made a big difference, they were different this time around," Eustace told The Lancashire Telegraph.

"We made a different change at half-time which probably wasn't the right one at the time. So we learned from that.

"It's different at home, atmosphere at home and there are lots of different things. We showed the lads some clips and where we could be better to hurt the opposition if we did play against ten men. That came off this time.

"Todd had 60 minutes on Tuesday, then 45 minutes at the weekend. We don't want to overuse him too so we'll have to see (whether he starts)."

It is the second successive season that Eustace has overseen a successful start to the campaign. Birmingham City were sat in the play-offs when he left St Andrew's on October 10 2023.

"There's no secret, it's down to the lads," he said.

"We prepare them properly, we have a game plan but it's up to them to carry it out. 

"I think it's important that my teams are very ready to work hard and be competitive.

"The stats are good and we want that to continue. If you look at when Barnsley got into the play-offs a few years ago, they always changed their front five on 60 minutes.

"That was very effective for them. It's important that we use the squad and they're ready to make a difference.

"We use the staff to look at players who need game time, who needs a rest. When a red flag comes up, we have to protect them to avoid anything long-term."

Tyrhys Dolan produced his best performance of the season on the season against QPR. His link-up with Cantwell was particularly encouraging down the left.

Eustace has been delighted with the forward's impact this season having put high expectations on him to improve his output.

"It's something we have worked on, not just with those two but Hedgey as well," The Rovers head coach explained.

"We want to be effective on the sides. It's good to have these options and it's hard work on the training pitch which helps that come off.

"Tyrhys has made a great start, we asked him to step up with Sammie leaving and I think he's done that. His work rate is outstanding, the quality on the ball is getting better and better.

"He's made huge improvements working with the coaches, the extra work he does is a credit to Ty. We want to improve those numbers and I think they will.

"He's a humble lad, very coachable and he works so hard. You can't ask for more as a coach when you want to try and help. He will reap the rewards from that and we will too."