John Eustace says Todd Cantwell is becoming a “focal point” for Rovers after getting off the mark against Leeds.

The summer signing slotted home the winner from the penalty spot as Eustace’s men made it three successive victories in the Championship.

Cantwell caused the Leeds backline plenty of problems throughout the contest and went close on a couple of occasions in the second half.

The 26-year-old was initially phased into the side following a tough pre-season at Rangers but has played a key role in recent results, helping Rovers remain on the fringes of the play-offs with a game in hand on the sides above them.

Eustace was delighted to see Cantwell net his first goal at Ewood Park and hopes that it will help the midfielder build on his promising performances of late.

“I don’t mind who takes the penalties as long as they put it away,” the head coach smiled. “It is important Toddy is off the mark now.

“It is his first goal for the club which is a big thing, I think it had been playing on his mind a tiny bit.

“He could have scored a couple more but he is getting in the right areas. He is playing some fantastic football.

“He is really a focal point for us now. He is helping us evolve as a footballing team and we are fortunate that he is here.”

Rovers head into the busy December period with momentum, and Eustace has been encouraged by their progress since the start of the campaign.

However, the boss insists that they must not get carried away as the fixtures keep coming thick and fast – especially with a couple of away trips now on the agenda.

“It is just believing in the process, we have continued to do that,” he explained. “We had a couple of really disappointing performances away from home, at Coventry and Plymouth for an hour.

“But overall, I think we have made great strides together from the start of the season to now. As I always say in the Championship, in a three-game week especially, you can go from highs to lows.

“It is important that you keep believing in what you are doing and working hard. We all do that in there. Win, lose or draw we just keep moving on.”

Rovers have kept back-to-back clean sheets against dangerous opposition and restricted Leeds to few clear-cut chances in the second half at Ewood Park.

Eustace is keen to maintain that resilience but hailed his side’s improvement with the ball, which he says has been part of their evolution.

The head coach wants to keep finding that balance as Rovers look to continue their climb up the table.

“You have got to do both sides of the game,” he stated. “It is important that you don’t just dominate the ball, you have to defend properly as well.

“That is part of our DNA but the way we are playing with the ball now, we are evolving and playing some really exciting football.”