ONE step closer to the big ending, two goals for Arma and three goals of quality; things should be rosy in the Ewood garden. So why do I feel concerned?

Even in the evenly matched first half Rovers created a handful of good chances and broke through Blackpool’s defensive blockade where at times this season they have struggled to power through, or pick the lock. So why this gut-swirl of worry?

Is it the dawning realisation that all the times I defended, and believed, Gary Bowyer as he made excuses for poor performances I was being misled? His stock in this house certainly shrunk to its lowest this weekend with his post-match whine on Radio Lancashire. I half-expected him to burst into “They call me Mr. Self-Pitiful.”

No, I feel concerned because international friendlies threaten to derail our season once more.

Northern Ireland choose to omit Will Grigg to ‘help concentrate on Wigan’s promotion push’. Not so Corry Evans. Scotland play in Hungary on March 27 and Rovers are at home to Bradford on the 29th. What price the only reason Charlie Mulgrew won’t play all 90 minutes for his country being because he is already injured? Mulgrew, Evans and Darragh Lenihan (for the Republic of Ireland U21s) have all previously come back from international duty injured and it seems that some clubs are favoured as regards nursing players through friendlies and some aren’t. Guess which camp Rovers fall in?

But this is all in the future and thankfully I am not Mystic Meg and Rovers may be at full strength come Easter. The great player, awful manager and poet, John Toshack wrote in his poetry book ‘Gosh, it’s Tosh’ that “Easter time is very vital, that’s when we decide the title”.

For League One it’s premature, as much as the media would love to hand it to plucky Wigan for their cup exploits.

Better to heed the words of the much-maligned Steve Kean: “We are not going to be able to invent 10 games where we can go on an unbeaten run because there aren’t enough games left.”

Let’s hope we do only have nine games left, especially if we remain unbeaten.