'Home form and low crowds a concern for Rovers

Six defeats in eight home matches in the Championship is a massive cause for concern for all involved at Blackburn Rovers.

Head coach Valerien Ismael described the 1-0 loss at home to QPR on Wednesday as "the worst feeling".

Only Southampton have left Ewood Park with nothing this season and Stoke City with a point.

This was a flat performance, to put it mildly. Five days earlier, a derby win at Preston had really given cause for optimism and potentially a corner turned. But this felt like it was back to square one for a team that was below par all night.

Playing at Ewood Park looks like a heavy weight on the shoulders of the players at the moment. Blackburn left the field to a chorus of boos at half-time with the score goalless and it was the same send-off for them at the full-time whistle.

The calendar year at home for Rovers makes very unpleasant reading - 19 league games played, 10 lost (with cup defeats by Wolves and Bradford thrown in). Six have been won and three drawn. It's a growing concern.

Ismael has had to contend with a fair share of injuries this season, but he's not alone. The problem against QPR, in my opinion, was that it looked like one too many key players were missing.

They're juggling the loss of an international goalkeeper, two senior centre-backs, the best holding midfielder at the club, a pacey wide player and the talisman and skipper.

Without disrespect meant to those who did play, I feel they'd have fared a lot better had they been able to call on more of the big hitters.

Passes were under-hit and over-hit. The ball was turned over far too often. Possession was surrendered in their own half frequently and the goal came from exactly that. Sloppy play resulted in an in-swinging cross and Paul Smyth was left all alone to head home.

Substitutes were brought on in a bid to firstly win the match and then to get back into it. They didn't work, whereas QPR's change clearly did. I don't blame Ismael for making the changes - if he hadn't, I'd have probably been asking why in the post-match debrief.

It's impossible to ignore the low attendance. There are a variety of reasons for it in my opinion.

There are those who decide to stay away as they don't agree with the way the club is run from the top down. This is nothing new. There is nothing to suggest that the current ownership are considering a sale.

The 'red button' has undoubtedly had a detrimental impact on the atmosphere of midweek Championship football. People have the option to stay at home these days and take in the action from the comfort of their armchair.

It's also crucial to remember that between now and 20 December, Rovers are at home on four more occasions. Working families can't find it easy at this time of year to afford match tickets as well as everything else over the festive period.

It also feels like a smaller attendance due to the sheer size of the stadium. It holds just over 30,000 seats.

When the 'new Ewood Park' was officially opened by Jack Walker in 1995, it seemed like the capacity was about right. These days, that simply isn't the case or anywhere near it.

Nobody is to blame for that. It's just a reality. If Rovers were to ever return to the top tier, would they sell out Ewood for every game? I have my doubts, but we'll have to wait and see.

There are 12 more home points to play for between now and the end of 2025. How many points they can take from Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford and Millwall will go a long way to shaping the second half of the season, what is achievable and what isn't.