Ben Brereton is determined to focus on his football and giving his all for Rovers every time he puts on the shirt.

Brereton took his tally to seven for the season and has his sights set on at least matching last season’s haul of 22.

That form attracted interest from Premier League clubs, with the closing of the transfer window lifting a weight from the shoulders of the Chile international.

Brereton's future remains a hot topic, with the club set to step up contract talks with his deal due to expire next summer, but the attacker is focusing all his attention on matters on the pitch.

He played down any fears of him missing tomorrow night’s trip to Wigan Athletic, having been substituted on Saturday, and said of his future: “There were rumours as there are for every player but I’m happy to be here, playing my part for the lads.

“I’ve been here for four years, I love the club, and I’m happy to keep going out there and scoring goals for the team.

“I’m mates with everyone, they’re like my family, so it’s great to be part of.

“We’re working hard every day and I feel the start to the season has been good, learning how the new gaffer wants to play, but I think now is the time to up the gears, put some wins together and hopefully we can do that.

“It’s an important part of the season.

“If we can get near the top six in this first part of the season, have a little rest, and then come back fresh for the second half of the season I can’t see a reason why we can’t be top six.

“We’ve got a good team and shown that in some tough games this season, we just need to be more consistent and get some away results.”

Brereton is closing in on 150 appearances for Rovers since his £6m move from Nottingham Forest in 2018.

A difficult first two seasons at the club saw him manage only a handful of Championship starts, and only two goals, but has since become one of the division’s leading marksmen.

Even during his struggles for goals and minutes, the 23-year-old continued to stress his enjoyment of life at Ewood Park, a trait that has continued.

“Everyone was asking questions, but I want to focus on football,” he said of the summer.

“I’m playing for Rovers, I’ve got a Rovers shirt on, I love playing football.

“I just want to be out there, playing for Rovers with a smile on my face and winning for the club.

“These past few years I’ve really enjoyed myself, and even the first few years when I wasn’t playing, I enjoyed myself, looking up to the likes of Danny Graham and Arma (Adam Armstrong).

“Since I’ve been here I’ve really enjoyed myself and I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.

“I’ve really developed as a player here, first under Tony and now the new gaffer who’s been brilliant towards me.

“We have good conversations and it’s a brilliant club to be at and I’m really happy.

“I love the feeling of scoring goals, and I’m really happy to be a part of the team and be in the gaffer’s plans.”

Brereton is one of four players to have started every game for Rovers this season, a statistic he wants to continue.

It was his injury in February that derailed Rovers’ 2021/22 campaign, going from promotion contenders to failing to finish in the top six.

While it proved to be an ultimately unsuccessful season in the quest to finish in the top six, Brereton says the squad took positives from it, and believes they are well placed to go one stage further this season.

“We all knew last season we were flying in the first half of the season but fell off,” he said.

“I think everyone will take positives because it was a great season for us. It was a fun season.

“We’ve got a young squad again this season but everyone is hungry to play games and good competition in the team.

“Everyone wants to do well for the gaffer, for themselves, for the team, and it’s a good competitive environment to be in.

“The goal this season is to stay concentrated, the whole team to stick together and I think we’ve got something special here.

“In training there’s a good standard, good quality, and it’s about putting games together with wins after wins.”

From a personal point of view, Brereton is looking to at least match his haul of 22 goals, having reached 20 before turn of the year.

His double against Rotherham took him to seven in 13 games, and he said: “I’m feeling great.

“Coming back this season I’m happy to have got some goals for the boys but it’s about keeping going.

“We’ve got nine games in a short period of time, Saturday-Tuesday, which is tough.

“The lads coming in to the team will be important, it’s tough, but a great opportunity that if you can win Saturday and then on Tuesday it’s six points and you get up the table.

“We’re all looking forward to these games to November and then we’ll get a little rest and go again after Christmas.”

Only Reading can top Rovers’ number of points at home this season, but it is on the road where their struggles have come, with four defeats in their six away fixtures.

They head to Wigan tomorrow night looking to break their run of 12 visits to the DW Stadium without a win, one which would move them level with the top three sides who are all locked on 24 points.

That would prove to be an excellent start for Rovers under new head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson who Tomasson is enjoying working under.

He said: “When I first met him after coming back from the internationals he was welcoming.

“All season so far he’s been great towards me, great towards the lads, and when you get a new manager it’s about understanding the philosophy of how he wants to play and I think everyone has picked up that very quickly.

“He’s a great manager and it’s a pleasure to play under him.

“He’s brought (assistant manager) Remy (Reijnierse) and (performance director) Ben (Rosen) as well, so getting to know everyone, and the new signings.

“This club is a welcoming place, a family club, all the staff have been here for ages and there’s a real togetherness around the whole building so we know what we want to achieve.”

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