John Eustace has one big Blackburn Rovers issue that is affecting play-off push | OneFootball

Rovers have surprised many with their performances this season, but consistency is an issue.

Blackburn Rovers have been excellent throughout the first three months of the Championship season, and supporters have been surprised by their early performances.

After an incredibly difficult 2023/24 campaign, one that saw Rovers come close to relegation to League One, the Lancashire club have returned to action looking like a completely new team.

It may have been a season that fans were not looking forward to with both Sammie Szmodics and Sam Gallagher moving on in the summer, after being two of the very few bright sparks at Ewood Park last time out.

But their loss has not quite been felt in the way that many might have thought, and John Eustace's side are in the fight for a top six finish.

However, there are a few issues that have to be stamped out in the next few weeks as they could threaten to derail any shock play-off push that Blackburn had been in for.

Blackburn's consistency has to improve quickly

While they may be 9th in the Championship table currently, Rovers are just three points off the top six, with the final position currently occupied by Watford.

Eustace's side had started the season fantastically, and had even entered the automatic positions after seven matches following a 2-0 win over QPR at the end of September. But, the last few weeks have been a lot more difficult, and they started to slide towards those occupying mid-table.

Two wins in eight means that Blackburn are currently on their worst run since March, and their young manager must work out a way to stop this rut from turning into a disastrous situation.

Three defeats in a row before a very impressive 3-1 victory over Cardiff City before the international break saw Rovers drop out of the play-off positions for just the second time in 2024/25.

Those around them are improving week-by-week, and away form has been an issue for the Lancastrians, who must improve their consistency on the road to have any chance of keeping up with the top six as the Championship enters the busy festive period.

Games will start to come thick and fast in the next month, and it is important that they do not lose touch with their rivals, otherwise an excellent campaign can start to look very ordinary extremely quickly.

Supporters will still be pleased with improvements

Ewood Park was a difficult place for Blackburn to go to themselves last season, with Eustace failing to win at his own stadium during 2023/24 after joining in February, but since the summer, it has offered him multiple wins and fantastic days in charge of his team.

They have won five of their eight matches at home so far this campaign, whereas they have won only once on the road. Nevertheless, after such a difficult time throughout the last year, supporters will be more than happy with how things are currently going.

While their consistency has not quite been at the level that is needed to mount a solid promotion push, they are still within touching distance of those in the play-off positions, and if they can start scoring more often and put teams under pressure, then they will break back into that group once again.

January offers Blackburn the chance to bring in new stars who can strengthen the team, and add more firepower to the forward-line, something that is lacking.

Eustace will need his more experienced players in the coming weeks to ensure that any consistency issues are put to rest before they become too big of a problem.