Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers and Burnley want to sign former Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie from Spanish club Las Palmas, where the 28-year-old Scotland cap has spent just six months. (Sun)

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn manager John Eustace speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire after the 1-0 defeat at Millwall:

"I thought it was a really good afternoon for both teams. Conditions were very tough and the way the boys battled today was very pleasing. It is something we do week in week out and obviously disappointing to concede in the last minute.

"Obviously it was disappointing to lose [Lewis] Travis with 10, 15 minutes to go but I still felt very comfortable. I didn't think they would score and I thought the way the boys defended was excellent.

"It looks like Lewis has done his hamstring so we will have to get a scan on that tomorrow and Harry Pickering took a blow to his knee so we will have to have a look at that too.

"We played some good football today. We had two or three good chances in the second half which we didn't take. Overall I thought a draw was a fair result.

"I am proud of the efforts in the first half of the season and the run we have been on has been terrific. A lot of hard work has gone into it but there is going to be a lot of hard work going into the second half of the season."

Image source, PA Media

Blackburn head coach John Eustace said the club hope to sign "one or two" players of "real quality" in the January transfer window.

Rovers are fifth in the Championship after a run of six consecutive wins put them within five points of the automatic promotion spots.

"I think it's important with all the hard work we've put in. I think everyone connected with the football club wants to keep bringing quality players into the group," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We all want to keep pushing up the league and being competitive. This group we've got now is really competitive and I know that they'll be wanting quality to come through the door. Fans will and staff will as well.

"It's a group effort - we've got to where we are now together and if we can bring in a couple of real quality players to help the group, that's all we ask for."

When asked whether the club are "ready" to secure any transfer targets early in the window, Eustace said: "I hope so. That's why we're in the game. We want to be successful, we want to keep building.

"The sooner we can bring quality to the group, the better for everyone."

Eustace added that Blackburn "don't want to bring lots of players in now" but rather additions that will lift the level of the squad.

"All of us just want one or two real good quality, top players to come in and really help the group," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Blackburn Rovers travel to Millwall looking to extend their impressive winning run in the Championship to seven games on Saturday afternoon (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key points from head coach John Eustace's pre-match press conference:

• Defender Callum Brittain is available again after missing the past two games with illness, while midfielder Todd Cantwell returns following a one-match suspension.

• On there being no drop-off in performances despite regular changes to the line-up: "It just shows the competition the boys are bringing every day in training. Training is very intense, everyone is trying to get in the team. The standard is really high."

• Eustace still expects it to be "a really difficult game", even after Neil Harris' departure, with David Livermore in temporary charge for the Lions. He said: "Their players will be very up for the game. He [Livermore] will get them very well prepared. He's a great coach and he's been at the club a long time, so it's going to be a really difficult game for us and one we're really looking forward to."

• On whether being linked to other managerial jobs changes anything for him: "No not at all. It's full credit to the players, they're playing some fantastic football. My job is to develop the players and make us successful. I said I wanted to come here and build and make something special and that's what I want to do."

Millwall begin life after Neil Harris at the helm with David Livermore leading the Lions as they welcome Blackburn to The Den on Saturday.

Rovers are seeking a seventh straight win and have kept clean sheets in their past five matches.

• Millwall have failed to win any of their past eight league games against Blackburn Rovers (D3 L5), with this fixture last season finishing in a 2-1 loss.

• Blackburn Rovers have lost just one of their 17 league games against Millwall (W10 D6).

• Millwall have lost each of their past three league games 1-0; the Lions haven't lost more matches in succession without scoring since August 2013 (four in a row).

• This season in the Championship, 15 different players have scored for Blackburn – the most of any side in the competition (excluding own goals).

• Across their Championship matches so far this season, Millwall have averaged just 39.4% possession – the lowest tally in the competition.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn goalkeeper Aynsley Pears has set his sights on a sixth straight clean sheet when Rovers head to Millwall on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The 26-year-old has kept the opposition out in 10 of his 20 Championship games - the joint-fourth most in the division.

Pears told the club website, external: "It's really good, we're really happy and it's a big goal of mine to keep as many as I can.

"It means we're all doing our jobs, not just myself, and getting 10 out of 20 is pretty amazing and something we need to keep up."

After six straight wins, Rovers are up fifth in the table, five points behind the automatic promotion places, with a game in hand.

"It's been a brilliant start but there's a long way to go and we're all really focused to keep it going," Pears added.

"We pride ourselves in being solid and hard to beat, and the forwards do their jobs. We're defending very well as a team and we're all happy and proud of one another.

"You can't rest for a minute. I'm desperate to keep a clean sheet, it's what I'm thinking about every minute of every game."

Image source, Rex Features

Amario Cozier-Duberry says he had goosebumps after scoring his first senior goal to keep Blackburn's winning run going.

The 19-year-old Brighton loanee was handed his first Rovers start by John Eustace against Luton at Ewood Park on Saturday.

The winger fired past former Rover keeper Thomas Kaminski to put the hosts ahead just after the half-hour before Owen Beck's second made the points safe before half-time, making it six straight wins for Eustace's side, who climb to fifth in the Championship.

Cozier-Duberry told the Rovers website, external: "It was so memorable and I'm so grateful and very happy.

"I was nervous but the coaches told me to go out there and be me, because they know how I play. You gain a lot of confidence when you hear that.

"It's my first professional goal and I'm delighted with it. I got on it, the defender came, I chopped back and then had a whack at it with my right foot.

"I got goosebumps when it went in and I could hear the fans roaring. It felt so good."

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace says Amario Cozier-Duberry's first start and first goal for the club showed his all-round ability.

The on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion winger opened the scoring in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Luton which was Blackburn's sixth successive victory.

Cozier-Duberry had been limited to just seven substitute appearances because of an ankle injury sustained in October but the 19-year-old made a big impression on his full debut.

"He was outstanding - he's been training very well and was close to starting four or five weeks ago before he got injured," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"In the first half he was virtually unplayable and I was pleased he scored a great goal."

Rovers' excellent run of form has seen them move up to fifth in the Championship table, five points behind second placed Leeds with a game in hand.

"The most pleasing thing for me is while he's an exciting player with the ball he really works hard without the ball as well and that's something we have to have within this team," Eustace added.

"Todd Cantwell does the same - every flair player and quality player we have in this group have got to be hungry and have that desire to get back and work hard for each other and he has that."

Blackburn will go for a seventh straight league win away at Millwall on Saturday.

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers midfielder Ryan Hedges says their recent good form will be wasted if they don't maintain their promotion push.

Rovers go into Saturday's Championship meeting with Luton on the back of a five-game winning streak which has propelled them up to fifth place in the table.

"We've been in this position before since I've been at this club and it came to nothing so we know that it means nothing at this moment in time," Hedges told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Most of the squad has been here and experienced the highs and lows so we have to learn from that."

A run of just three wins from their final 16 matches last season saw Rovers finish 19th last term having been seventh at the halfway stage of the season.

But Hedges believes they are better prepared this time around with more experienced figures in the dressing room.

"We're in a much better place with the squad depth," he added.

"This time last year I was the oldest player in the changing room at 28 whereas now I'm in the middle of the pack, which is what you would find in most dressing rooms."

Both Blackburn and Luton picked up three points in their midweek games, with Rovers winning 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday and the Hatters beating Stoke 2-1.

Blackburn are on an impressive run of five straight victories and are fifth in the Championship, seven points off the automatic promotion spots with a game in hand.

Luton are 15th and five points above the drop zone but have won just once away from home this season (D1 L7) and conceded 15 goals in their past four games on the road.

• Blackburn Rovers have won just one of their past 11 league games against Luton Town (D4 L6), a 1-0 victory in January 2021 courtesy of an Adam Armstrong strike.

• Luton have lost just one of their past five away league games against Blackburn (W2 D2), having lost five of their previous six league trips there (D1).

• Blackburn have won six of their nine league games at Ewood Park so far this season (D1 L2); since 2001-02 Rovers have only won at least seven of their first 10 such games to begin a campaign, doing so in 2022-23 (8).

• Luton have lost each of their past six away league games, conceding 20 goals in that run (3.3 per game); the Hatters haven't endured a longer such run in the EFL in February 2020 (run of 11).

• Luton have lost 14 away league games in 2024, their most in a year as an EFL side since 2008 (also 14). They last suffered more away defeats in a year back in 1991 (15).

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers' squad depth and unity will allow some players not currently in contention for selection to eventually be heroes, boss John Eustace said.

Tuesday's 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday, which lifted Rovers to fifth in the Championship, came despite a substantial amount of absentees.

"I said after Saturday [against Hull City] that those players who aren't involved in that game are going to be matchwinners and really important members in the team throughout the season, and tonight [against Sheffield Wednesday] was a fine example of that," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"We've got nine players out so it just shows whoever is needed and ready.

"All these players who aren't playing at the moment are going to be huge parts of the playing staff going forward.

"We've got 27 games to go so those who aren't heroes at the moment will certainly be heroes at the end of the season."

Image source, Rex Features

Blackburn Rovers head coach John Eustace welcomes back club captain Lewis Travis for the midweek Championship trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

The 27-year-old midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Leeds United on 30 November, meaning he missed Saturday's 1-0 win at Hull City - Rovers' fourth league victory in a row.

Travis was replaced by Stoke City loanee Lewis Baker at the base of the midfield at the MKM Stadium but is likely to return to the starting line-up at Hillsborough on Tuesday.

Rovers' win on Saturday also marked the 900th consecutive game in which an academy player was available to play for the club's first team, a record going all the way back to 2009.

And Eustace revealed he was proud of the club's continued record of producing homegrown talent.

"It just shows you what a special football club this is and the work that goes on behind the scenes from the academy staff is second to none," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Sheffield Wednesday are looking to put themselves in the promotion mix after their recent climb up the table and face Blackburn on Tuesday evening.

The Owls are unbeaten in their past four games (W2 D2) - a run of results that has lifted them from 15th to ninth and five points behind Rovers in the play-off spots.

Blackburn arrive at Hillsborough off the back of four straight wins and also have a game in hand on the five sides above them.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won each of their past three league games against Blackburn, last winning more in a row over Rovers via a streak of five victories between 1964 and 1966.

• Blackburn Rovers have lost five of their past six away league games against Sheffield Wednesday, winning the other 5-0 in January 2020.

• Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in six midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W3 D3), keeping a clean sheet in each of their past four and winning both of their past two in succession.

• After their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in November, Blackburn could win successive away midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games for the first time since February 2018 (5 in a row).

• Josh Windass has scored in each of his past three league appearances against Blackburn Rovers for Sheffield Wednesday (3 goals).

Image source, Rex Features

Premier League winner Mark Atkins says Blackburn will be in with half a chance of making the play-offs if they can negotiate the next few weeks and invest in January.

Rovers have won four on the bounce - and kept three clean sheets in the process, following Saturday's 1-0 win at Hull City - to return to the Championship's top six.

Rovers face seven matches in less than four weeks, starting with a trip to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday before games against Luton, Millwall, Sunderland and Hull to come in December before Leeds and Burnley await in the first four days of 2025.

Atkins told BBC Radio Lancashire that Rovers' form was "massively impressive", adding: "Two or three weeks ago, they'd lost three on the trot. To take that to four wins on the bounce is fantastic and the clean sheets are a massive bonus.

"It's a great start, but it's just a start at the minute, they have got to keep going. December is a big month – if you can get through December and still be in those play-offs then you're in with half a chance."

Rovers have only scored 10 goals in their past 13 games and Atkins hopes the January transfer window is used to strengthen in attack.

"The centre forward area is a problem, you need somebody who is going to score goals," said the 56-year-old, who made more than 300 appearances in seven years with Rovers and was part of the team that won the Premier League title in 1995.

"If they can get somebody who is going to get you 10 goals before the end of the Championship season then that would be fantastic. That's the one position you'd say is a bit weak at the minute."

Andi Weimann and Yuki Ohashi are Rovers' joint leading scorers with five apiece, with Sammie Szmodics in third place on three, having left the club in mid-August.