John Eustace is approaching a year in the Rovers dugout and a lot has happened at Ewood Park in that time.

Eustace took charge last February following Jon Dahl Tomasson’s departure, with the side sitting 18th in the table and firmly in a relegation battle.

Rovers secured safety on the final day following a memorable victory at champions Leicester, who were denied the chance to reach the 100-point milestone.

The side were written off again after losing top scorer Sam Szmodics but hit the ground running after a full pre-season with Eustace and his coaching staff, even racking up six successive victories at one stage.

Ahead of the Preston North end clash, the head coach was quizzed about his tenure so far and what the next goals are.

“I think just keep improving, moving up the league and trying to finish as high as we can. Obviously, we have to take each game as it comes,” he replied.

“I have been proud of the work everyone connected with the football club has done. You can see we have made progress from last season.

“If we just keep doing the right things and getting players back fit, if we can improve the squad, then we can keep growing and building together.”

Eustace’s side defied expectations during the first half of the campaign but the boss insists they cannot rest on their laurels now.

“I think everyone would have been (pleased to be around the top six), not just me. I think everyone would have been absolutely delighted,” he said.

“It is just important that we keep working hard and keep believing in what we are doing.

“The fans have been absolutely fantastic with this group of players. Even the way they all stayed behind in Bristol last Saturday.

“Every one of them stayed behind and applauded the performance of the group. You can see the players and the fans connected, and that is all I ask for.”

Eustace hailed the “togetherness” in the camp and hopes to keep building on that heading into the final months of the campaign.

“We have got that togetherness, we have got that know-how. We are playing some fantastic football at times,” the former Birmingham chief added.

“We have to keep improving. We have to defend the box a bit better at times as well. You can see the progression.

“If we have got a full fit squad, I am sure that we could have had a really good January and finished Christmas very well. But we have not, it is the Championship.

“Every team goes through a spell of not winning games, it is how they come through it. Different teams have bad form.

“They have injuries, suspensions. I don't think our form on the pitch has been bad, I think performances have been good enough certainly to take a few more points.

“The most important thing is that we get everyone back as quickly as we can and we keep improving the squad. During the difficult moments, the fans stick by the team, which they have done up to now. It is a good place to be.”