TEAM spirit is massive, absolutely massive.

While you don’t particularly have to be the best of friends with your team-mates, you do have to work together and share the same ethic.

It’s like the players are the cogs in a wheel and, if one or two of them are not pulling their weight, the wheel will get busted.

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We were fortunate in the title-winning team that I played in at Blackburn that all the players worked together.

Even the players who weren’t playing, the ones sat on the sidelines, they made sure the wheel kept spinning and if somebody dropped out, they would jump in and take their place.

It was fantastic and that’s what kept us going throughout that season.

And I think, 20 years on, Gary Bowyer is getting that now.

He’s got young, hungry lads, full of desire who, now they are getting a taste of success, they don’t want to let it go.

You can tell that by the amount of times they are coming from behind to take a point or get a win as they did at home to Leeds on Saturday.

The Championship is a long-distance run and we’re not even halfway around the track yet.

But Blackburn are tucked away nicely in the play-off positions and still within touching distance of the top two.

It’s going well – and just well enough to still be slightly off the radar.

That’s a good place to be as the less people talking about you the less chance of things being blown out of proportion and getting carried away.

All Blackburn can focus on now is Middlesbrough on Saturday.

It’s going to be a difficult game because they are rejuvenated.

Like Blackburn, they are on a bit of rebuilding job, and like Blackburn, they are getting results.

It’s a shame Jason Steele will not be able to play against his parent club because he seems to be doing well.

There will be a big debate about who should take his place, whether it should be Simon Eastwood or Paul Robinson.

You do wonder if experience counts more for a game like this but you’ve got to go with who will be more match fit.

That’s why I think we will see Eastwood in the team.

Okay he’s not played for the first team lately but he has been playing in behind-closed-doors matches whereas Robbo hasn’t played any football for two months after being injured.

You’ve got to have faith in Eastwood to do a job and I’m sure all the players will be backing him up. As a team, that’s what you’ve got to do if you want success.