John Eustace is pleased with the progress Blackburn Rovers have made at both ends of the pitch but stressed the room for improvement.

Much has been made of Rovers' renewed defensive stability since the head coach came in. They ended last season with six clean sheets in their last 10 matches and have five in as many games this term too. It's three shutouts in a row at Ewood Park too.

But their offensive numbers have steadily risen too. Only three teams have scored more goals than Eustace's side this term (Sunderland, Leeds, Norwich City) despite the loss of Sam Szmodics.

Eustace admitted that losing a player of that quality was a concern in the summer but, as he always aimed to do, Rovers have brought in more goal-scorers to ease the burden.

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"I don't want to keep talking about last season but you can see we became very difficult to play against," Eustace said.

"We turned our defensive record around to one of the best in the league by the end. We are a difficult team to play against and, home or away, we're in all of the games.

"The players have bought into it, they follow the principles of how we want to play. They're teaching the new players how we want to do things, it's a lot of hard work over these last six months.

"The goals against column is still not what I want but you have to get the balance right. I think we are doing that slowly.

"We let a lot of goals in and we weren't scoring enough and it's just as important to improve both areas. We're now in the top four for goals scored this year which is great.

"When you lose a player that scored 30 plus goals (Szmodics), that is always a worry, of course it is. We asked others to step up and it's been a group effort and the goals have been shared.

"We will have games against where we don't score and people say we're missing X player. That's the nature of the Championship."

West Brom have an identical record to Rovers and have made a strong start to the season. In the eye of many, they will be top-six challengers, at least, once more this season.

It will be a step up in opposition compared to what Rovers have already faced at Ewood Park. That doesn't mean they should be feared but instead, that challenge should be embraced with the chance to lay down a marker.

Eustace is well aware of the quality and Championship experience running through their squad.

"They're an excellent team with one of the best squads in the Championship," the Rovers head coach said.

"They have proven quality. They've recruited well again, I expect them to be in the top two or three again.

"They have a lot of good players, who know the Championship, and a very good coach. Look at their squad of players, they've been promoted out of the league.

"I think every game in the Championship brings different tests. We've had difficult games against promoted teams who had momentum behind them, two derby matches.

"We don't worry about other teams. I worry about us, confidence is high. We have been in every game. I think what we've done already sets markers.

"You can't get carried away with a few defeats or the highs either. To win a game is very difficult so playing against West Brom we have to be competitive.

"It should be a good game. Any night game at Ewood is a special night, we need the fans to get behind us to get us through those difficult moments which I know they will do."