George Miller has been hailed for a shift in mindset which has helped deliver a positive impact for Rovers during pre-season.
Miller has made a strong first impression at the club with five goals in pre-season after signing a three-year contract last month.
Behind-the-scenes, there was a feeling however that the 23-year-old did not have faith in his wider contribution to the team - something assistant manager Steve Eyre has praised him for starting to find.
“I think there needed to be an adjustment when he came into the building, possibly of his own plan and his own self-worth, and what he could bring the team and the club,” Eyre said.
“But he’s done that very quickly, and while we helped him and supported him with the adjustment, I think he’s taken most of that on himself.
“He’s a big, big part of our dressing room, a big part of our future and our club.
“And he’s certainly a big part of our culture.
“I do always think that hard work takes you where good things find you, and certainly he bases his career and football life around hard work.
“We’re seeing the rewards of that in this pre-season.
“It doesn’t go on any kind of tally and you don’t get any points for it but we’re very, very pleased for George.”
While his goals in pre-season - including two superb strikes against Rotherham United - have seen Miller garner headlines, Eyre is pleased with the striker’s off the ball work that provides openings for teammates.
“It’s five goals but more important for us is that he’s showing what a team player he is,” he said.
“We’re working on him every day about his ball retention and linking with the rest of the team.
“The fact he is so willing to chase the opposition down, run in behind and make spaces for our talented players, he’ll be a really big player for us.
“He’s a fantastic lad, a really good character and we felt we just needed to make him a bit more ambitious and give him more self-worth before we could start working with him.
“We’re really enjoying that at the moment.”