IT WAS perhaps inevitable that it was Shrewsbury’s game against the side fighting relegation that placed the future in Rovers hands rather than the one facing play-off hopefuls, writes Simon Smith.

This season in League One has seen many football coupons meet their doom. And there will be some curious twists and turns to come yet.

Rovers lack of game time means that, although they might be in third place by the time we play again, those expected point-hauls for Wigan and Shrewsbury are not yet on the board.

I admit that the momentum that Rovers had may now ebb slightly and the Bradford game may well see the team crunching through the gears before reaching anything near full speed.

The continued loss of Harry Chapman, the strange postponement at Gillingham and Josh Morris’ missed penalty meant that Saturday was a day to forget. As much as we hope the likes of Bradley Dack and Adam Armstrong spent the day in a hammock flicking cards into a top hat; all loose and relaxed, everyone concerned with Blackburn Rovers must be feeling the nerves.

Tony Mowbray’s job is to calm the players for this final push, something that calls for all his experience.

Without wishing to cast aspersions on any clubs it is during the international get-togethers that players get gently ‘tapped-up’ for other clubs. I daresay those two immense centre-halves of ours will find themselves being regaled with stories of how the grass is greener at the clubs their colleagues play for.

Should Rovers attain promotion back to the Championship then I expect the key players to stick together and see what happens. If the unthinkable occurs then Rovers could be in a fight to keep hold of the talent.

Mind you, after years of awaiting Scott Sellars’ departure to the top division it was only after our own promotion to it that he left!

So let’s not go down the gloomy alley when the bright side of the street has a table laid out for us.