John Eustace is eager to make the most of time on the training pitch during the international break following a busy spell in the Championship.

The fixtures have come thick and fast since Eustace took charge at Ewood Park but there is now a chance to refresh before Ipswich come to town on Good Friday.

Eustace is looking forward to getting some time on the grass with the players ahead of the final eight games.

“We have had a lot of games in a short period of time and made good steps going forward, in my opinion,” the head coach reflected.

“With a bit of luck we could have had a few more victories, but we haven’t. It is important that we get the right blend now and we can do some good coaching over the next two weeks but also give the lads a bit of a rest.

“There are seven or eight internationals away and as I have said before, a lot of these players have been playing on the back of long injuries.

“They have been playing in a tired state and we have been lucky that we haven’t had more muscle injuries from that.

“But again, the commitment of the group – they have just kept going and going. I am very proud of the efforts of the whole squad over the four or five weeks and I’m also very proud of the efforts of the staff.

“They have worked tirelessly to make sure that these players and ready and prepared and the whole football club, inside the training ground, has been outstanding.”

The likes of Sam Szmodics and Arnor Sigurdsson are away on international duty with their respective nations.

Rovers have had their fair share of bad injury luck this season, and Eustace admits it is always a nervy time for managers.

“It is a time where you hope you don’t get the call, but it is also a very proud time to see your players go on and represent their countries at different ages because of how well they have been doing,” he added.

“From a selfish point of view, you don’t want them to go but from a performance and development point of view, I think the football club should be very proud seeing all the players going off on international duty.”

Eustace also explained the plan for the members of the Rovers squad who aren’t away on international duty over the next couple of weeks.

“They will have a couple of days off but we will certainly be back to work early in the week,” he stated after the final whistle at Middlesbrough.

“We have eight massive games coming up, which we know about and we have got to keep working. Hopefully, we can keep picking up points.”