ROVERS boss Gary Bowyer believes the Championship is as hard as it has ever been - but that his side are well placed to escape the division at the end of the season.

Two wins in a row have moved Rovers up to eighth place in the table, just four points off the top.

But just five points separate the top ten in the Championship, while today’s opponents Reading are down in 14th place, but are only five points off the top six.

In the Premier League the top ten are separated by 12 points, having played five games less. In League One there is 14 points between first and tenth, and in League Two eight points cover the top ten.

“I think we’re right amongst them,” said Bowyer, “it's a very competitive league as ever, I said at the start of the season that I personally felt it was the hardest it would ever be, and that’s proved the case, no one is running away with it, we’ve just got to make sure we look after ourselves and concentrate on what we can improve on and get better.”

Despite Rovers’ four point cushion over the Royals, Bowyer doesn’t expect Nigel Adkins’ side to be too far away come May, and he also believes Fulham, Bolton and Wigan, three of the bottom six at the moment, will be in the shake-up for promotion at the end of the season.

“Reading are a team that could quite easily find themselves in the play-offs in two months time or a month's time,” said Bowyer, “with the games coming thick and fast.

“I personally look at the league table, I look at Bolton and I don’t think they’ll be too far away, I look at Fulham and they won’t be too far away, and Wigan got a fantastic result at the weekend and my personal view is that they will be very close to the play-offs, so it just shows you how tough it is and how competitive it is, and Reading are one of those teams that will feature.”

Rovers are searching for a third straight league win for the first time this season today, but Bowyer is expecting a tough game against Reading, who ended their seven match winless streak with a 3-0 win over Blackpool last Saturday.

“You look at the calibre of players in there and they still have players in their team who played in the Premier League,” said the Rovers boss, “so we’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a very tough game but we’ve just got to have a right good go at them, we’re at home, we’ve had some impressive performances at home that haven’t warranted the results we’ve got off them, but we’ll have a good go, we need the fans to be right behind us and get as many through the gates as we possibly can.”

The competitive nature of the division is something that Rovers on loan goalkeeper Jason Steele is also aware of, and he has given up trying to predict who will beat who on any given weekend.

“You look at the team at the start of the season that were unbeaten,” said Steele, “Forest went 10 games unbeaten and now it seems they can’t buy a win, that’s this league to a tee and I always have a laugh and a joke with my friends who ask me who I think will beat who in the Championship, you cannot predict it, that’s the way it is and the more consistent teams that take two wins out of three are the ones who are generally there or there abouts.”

GARY Bowyer believes Jordan Rhodes should be nailed on to win the Championship Player of the Year gong at the forthcoming Northwest Football Awards.

Rhodes scored 25 goals in 46 games last season as Rovers came within two points of securing a place in the Championship play-offs.

His big rivals for the award is Burnley striker Danny Ings, who scored 21 times in 40 league games as Burnley secured promotion to the Premier League.

But despite Ings’ goals helping the Clarets go up, Bowyer thinks there can only be one winner when the awards ceremony takes place at Old Trafford cricket ground on Tuesday, November 18.

“I think it’s a massive reward for not just the player but the team, the team effort,” said Bowyer.

“Jordan appreciates all the hard work and the chances the players create for him, so it would be great if he could win it. For him to score 25 goals last season was a phenomenal effort, so for me it’s nailed on.”

Rhodes and Ings also face competition for the award from Blackpool’s David Perkins, Bolton Wanderers’ Tim Ream and Wigan Athletic’s James McArthur.

Rovers’ midfielder Tom Cairney is also up for the Rising Star award, and he faces competition from Burnley youngster Steven Hewitt, as well as Everton’s England international Ross Barkley.

Bowyer also praised Rhodes’ strike partner Rudy Gestede, as the pair continue to combine to great effect this season, both finding the back of the net in last weekend’s 3-1 win at Nottingham Forest.

“They’ve got 11 goals between them already this season,” said the Rovers boss, “and I wouldn’t know which one to mark if I was playing against them, I’m not sure which one is the easiest job. They both have different qualities that makes it very difficult for the defenders.”