GARY Bowyer made six changes on Saturday to the side that drew with Middlesbrough and those players pushing to get in the first team did their chances no harm at all.

Afterwards the manager lauded the strength in depth of the current squad and it is heartening to see so many players are available to come in and do a job.

We are operating on a fraction of the budget we had just two years ago as the owners, quite rightly, realised they needed to tighten the purse strings.

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So to say we have players outside the first XI who can come in and perform is testament to the job being done by the current management team.

Chris Taylor has been a model professional since he signed for Rovers. He understands he is a squad player and is unlikely to play every game but he still puts in a shift every time he is called on.

Having scored both goals in Saturday’s win he has to be considered for a start on Sunday.

And then there is David Dunn who was inexplicably unused in the goalless draw with Boro. Dunny is still a game changer and, having managed more than an hour on Saturday, still has what it takes to play a big part in a game.

The centre of defence is an area that has been cause for concern and many are still not convinced by the Hanley-Duffy partnership, and in Matt Killgallon we have a player perfectly capable of coming into the side when needed.

Then of course there is Simon Eastwood who, following the permanent signing of Steele, ensures that at least for the time being we have two solid keepers in the squad.

The depth we have is added to by a number of promising youngsters coming in, three of whom were named in the bench on Saturday. And while we’re on the subject of youth, this David Raya kid looks like the real thing.

The youth coaches at Rovers really rate the young keeper and it took an injury-time penalty for Derby to get anything past him in the FA Cup game against Southport.

*I had intended to mention in last week’s column what a nice gesture it was to show pictures of those Rovers fans and former players who passed away over the past year during the final home game of 2014. Having been a club that lost its way in recent years, it is gestures like that that will help bring the fans back closer to the club.

Some people within Ewood these days clearly recognise the importance of the supporters at our club and, after feeling somewhat alienated in the recent tumultuous times, it is nice to feel as though we are appreciated again. Isn’t that what supporting your local team is all about?