WE’VE got just over a week until the transfer window closes and Blackburn Rovers must sort out the futures of Shane Duffy and Ben Marshall before then.

We cannot afford to lose them in the final hours of the window and for them not to be replaced.

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We don’t know what has been said behind closed doors but, if they’ve indicated to Owen Coyle that they want to go in this transfer window, then I’d look to find a buyer now and not have them in the team.

If that’s the case, I’m not saying they wouldn’t give their all if selected, but situations like that can upset dressing room sometimes.

There’s no point keeping unhappy players. That said you have to get the right price for them.

What we certainly can’t afford to let happen is for them to go late on next Wednesday and we are panic buying replacements. That’s the worst case scenario for any manager.

Duffy and Marshall are good players and they will take a lot of replacing.

If they have decided to run their contracts down, but are not pushing for a move in this window, I would play them because they’re going to have to give it 100 per cent if they are going to put themselves in the shop window for January or the summer.

But whether Marshall and Duffy stay or go it’s clear from what we’ve seen so far this season that the squad needs strengthening.

Rovers may have got off the mark on Saturday but games like those are the ones you look at and think, ‘that’s got to be three points’.

The late goal was a sickener and while I’m not saying we need to press the alarm button just yet, we do need a win in the league to get the confidence back.

I know we’ve got Crewe in the EFL Cup tonight, which we should win, but we’ve seriously got to start picking points up in the league as we don’t want to be cut adrift in that bottom three.