Michael O

Michael O'Neill detailed how Blackburn Rovers must search for incremental growth to rebuild themselves as a stable Championship performer.

Rovers have been Jekyll and Hyde in their last four seasons since Tony Mowbray left. That's seen two seventh-place finishes and two near-misses at being relegated to League One. They've had four permanent head coaches in that time too.

O'Neill believes that Rovers must strive for more stability and consistency. That starts with focusing on hitting 60 points next year and building, as other clubs in similar positions have done.

"I've been in the Championship before when I went in at Stoke. We had to go to the second or third, second or last game, I think, to guarantee survival there as well. So, I know what that's like," he reflected.

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"I think the resource at Stoke was bigger in terms of the squad and everything. But the feelings as a manager are the same. I think any manager who's in this situation, you're just trying to get your team and get them over the line and get points and every game is so tight.

"At the end of the day, we're in the bottom six, but we've played the teams in the top six. And I would say, probably other than Southampton, I've not come away thinking there's a huge difference.

"But equally, we haven't been able to have the consistency that those teams have and that's key. The consistency over a season gives you a chance to be in the top half of the table.

"I think where the club is at the minute, you have to try and become a 60-point team. Then once you get to be a 60-point team, then you can start to think about the next phase, which is a 70-point team.

"Once you're there, you're starting to think about, is there an option to be a playoff team at that point in time?

"But when you're down there, it's not easy to get away from the bottom. We've seen that, look at Leicester.

"Not easy to get out from there. You don't want to be going where we are now. You certainly don't want to be doing that every year."

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Rovers have some players they can build around. O'Neill feels the current squad does have assets which can be utilised with more additions to bulk up the squad.

He also insisted that improving the form at Ewood Park will be crucial in any hope of climbing the table.

"You're always looking for perfection in those types of situations. But we have players who are good on transition," he explained.

"We obviously have, particularly on the right-hand side, we've got legs and we've got a little bit of quality to get to good areas from there.

"The fans have been extremely patient, which is never easy for them. The away support have been magnificent.

"I understand at home, whilst we've only lost one game, we've probably drawn maybe one or two more than we would have liked.

"It would be nice to see everyone at the club on the same page and moving in the same direction. Because home form and making Ewood formidable will be important for the club going forward."