John Eustace is 'excited' by the prospect of partnering Yuki Ohashi and Makhtar Gueye as he looks to solve Blackburn Rovers' goal-scoring conundrum.
Blackburn haven't score in their last three Championship games and have netted only twice in their last six outings. Chance creation has been as much of an issue in that period as actually taking their chances.
Eustace is still trying to find the right balance in his front four. He's had to contend with fitness considerations whilst losing Amario Cozier-Duberry was a blow, at a time when he was set for a run in the side.
One thing that hasn't been trialled is two strikers. Rovers have started every league game in a 4-2-3-1 with Ohashi and Gueye sharing the minutes. The one time they played together was against Oxford for the final 30 minutes, back in August. A game they went on to win.
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Eustace insists he has not ruled out that prospect as he seeks to find the right balance in attack.
"I think they can play together. Early on in the season, we trialled it with some substitutions (vs Oxford) and they can do it," he said.
"We know that can work but we're always looking for the right balance in games. That could be very exciting with them both playing from the start and it's something we're always looking at.
"If they play together, it won't take long to adapt. They're still adapting to the speed and physicality of the league but playing them together sounds exciting and something we'll look at."
Eustace is keen for Rovers' lack of potency to not be overblown. He believes that the team are still entering the final third with regularity and winning the ball back in the right areas to hurt the opposition.
That was certainly the case in the first half against Sheffield United but a lack of quality let them down. The second half was a different story, which Eustace acknowledged.
"It's the league, teams have runs where they don't score. West Brom haven't won in seven and they're struggling to score but they're one of the top teams in the league," he reiterated.
"It's important not to be too disappointed with things. We will have games where we score a lot of goals, we have to stay positive.
"I think you will always want to bring in quality in the final third but we have a fantastic group of players who have done fantastically until now. We are not going to get negative about scoring. The results will come.
"We have lost our last two games but before that, we won and drew against two outstanding teams.
"It's about not getting carried away, it's a long season. The Championship is up and down, we'll get a run of games where we win, lose, draw. It's about being level-headed in those moments and keep believing.
"That's what we do here. 13 games in is a good, nearly a third, start to the season. There will be more highs and lows but we have to be consistent in what we're saying and doing.
After 13 Championship games, Rovers find themselves seventh. Whilst it's four defeats in six, that remains a healthy position to be after more than a quarter of the campaign.
Eustace's challenge is for his group to find consistency, referencing the variance of the division. Teams have good runs and bad but it is about liming the latter.
He felt the experience against Sheffield United is one that Rovers can learn from to become a better team. Being 2-0 down at home was a new experience for this group under his reign and he conceded they didn't handle it well.
It's something that was addressed and analysed on Monday morning. But he feels the ingredients of a successful team remain.
"We are looking for a level of consistency and working hard. It's important we bounce back from Saturday's defeat. The togetherness is there with the fans," he said.
"We are looking for that level of consistency. When we play well, we're a very good team but it's about doing that week in, week out. That's something we're learning and adapting to.
"Saturday was very difficult but for 55 minutes, they only had one real chance. The first half wasn't anything to be disappointed about, we came in feeling good.
"The second half wasn't what we wanted but we have to learn from the top teams. How they manage the game, how they approach playing against us. We're getting a lot of respect from the top teams around us.
"We have spoken about that this morning, how we deal with that setback. We haven't been 2-0 down at home. It's something new and they managed the game so well.
"We have to learn from this experience and we've done that in my eight months. There will be more difficult moments but we'll get through them together."
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