Gaffer up for the fight.
Rovers manager Paul Dickov has said that he has asked the players to share his drive, enthusiasm and belief ahead of a crucial Easter double header for his side.
Dickov’s comments came in the wake of a disappointing week, where Rovers, who sit three points clear of the relegation zone, have been dragged back in to a relegation scrap for survival with just four games remaining.
“Lets not forget that there’s five teams below us, it may only be one win but everybody has to win their games and I’d much rather be where we are,” he said.
The fixtures have broken as such for Dickov’s men that they will go in to Friday night’s televised game against Derby County after some of their relegation rivals (Yeovil, Charlton and Blackpool) but before others (Millwall, Barnsley and Birmingham) have played.
“It doesn’t count for anything if we don’t perform, we can only concentrate on what we do here and we’ll look at other results after the game but we don’t look at results before the game to see who could do what or who can’t because you can’t predict this division and if we start doing that, we can get mentally side-tracked and we need everyone focussed 100% on the job we’ve got in hand and that is the Derby game,” he said.
The Derby game is Rovers’ penultimate home game of the season and comes on a weekend that could potentially make or break their season, with a trip to Millwall on Monday to come.
“You’ve got to be careful not to take your eye off the ball. We could win both games and still be in the same position and lose both games and still be in the same position. So it’s important that we focus on what happens here,” said Dickov.
“As much as we’re all disappointed, they can take belief from the last few games that we’ve played. We want to go out and try and play at a high tempo against what is a good side but we’re very mindful that we have to be solid at the back because they’ve got players who can hurt you and I’ll be reminding them of the games where we’ve been up against it and coming off the back of a bad run and we’ve got a reaction. If we’ve got to fight and scrap then that’s what we’ll do.”
Dickov is approaching the home straight with his eyes wide open, citing that he was ‘loving it’ but realises he will face the former England manager, Steve McLaren, in an attempt to avenge December’s 3-1 defeat at the iPro Stadium.
“Steve will have them ready; he was very complimentary about our performance and had a lot of time for us after our game there.
“I’m loving it. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have some more points on board but this is what its all about, you find out about yourself and the people around you, and the one thing I’ve always been is up for a fight,” he finished.