John Bostock believes the defeat at Sunderland was something of a wake-up call in Rovers’ bid to cement their top six spot.
Darren Moore’s side were beaten 4-1 at the Stadium of Light, and Bostock says they struggled to get going in the game.
He said: “It was a tough one for us, the first-half performance gave us too much to do and it was a bit of a wake-up call.
“When you’re not playing well on the ball you have to make up for that off the ball and that’s when we’ve fallen short in the past couple of games.
“The lads haven’t experienced many days like this and I think that will spark a reaction, we have to apply ourselves correctly in training now ready for the next game.”
After coming on as a half-time substitute, Bostock felt there were positives to take from the second-half performance.
He added: “It’s not easy coming on at half-time in a situation like that but I just wanted to try and effect the game with the time I had.
“We were a bit deflated with a mountain to climb but I thought there were some positive signs after the break.
“The beauty of having so many games is that it gives you another opportunity to turn things around in both result and performance.”