Rovers midfielder says side must keep performances up.
Dean Furman told Rovers Player that he is ready to seize his chance, should it come his way, following recent injuries to captain Richie Wellens.
The South Africa captain came on after half an hour as a substitute for Wellens in the 2-1 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night and put in a performance that manager Paul Dickov described as “his best game since I’ve been his manager.”
Furman shrugged off such suggestions, however: “The overall disappointment was the result rather than my own personal performance which doesn’t really come in to it. It’s all about the team and trying to get the points so we can secure safety.”
Rovers head to play-off chasers Ipswich Town on Saturday, looking to avenge the 3-0 defeat inflicted on them over the Christmas period and Dickov has laid down the gauntlet to his squad.
“If players come in and do well, then I’ll keep them in the team and that’s the challenge – not just for Dean – but to every player that’s playing at the moment.
“I’m probably Dean’s biggest critic because I’ve been his manager for the last three years and I know him inside out. I made him captain at Oldham when he was just 22. So he also knows how highly I think of him, but he also knows how critical I can be of him, but that’s only because I want him to be the best he can be.
“My relationship with Dean is fantastic, when he’s left out of the team, I can feel the daggers in the back of my head and when he’s in the side, he’s a lot better. He’s a top professional and he’s shown me that since a young age and what I want him to do now is take games by the scruff of the neck and impose himself,” he said.
Furman, who looks set for a recall which would pit him against former Rover Paul Green, said that while it was “frustrating” being out of the side, it was “part and parcel” of football as the quest to cross the finishing line intensifies.
“We know if we keep that level of performance (against Bolton) up for the rest of the season that we’ll pick up more than enough points to keep us safe,” Furman said.
“We’ve got a very difficult away game at Ipswich on Saturday, but we have to get back to the form we showed last month and be resolute and strong and hard to break down because we know we can always score goals.”