John Eustace hopes Rovers can find a healthy balance between being defensively resilient and offering quality in the final third.

The side kept a first clean sheet in 17 games against Cardiff in midweek, although they struggled to carve out opportunities at the other end.

Eustace is confident they can have the best of both worlds but admits it will take time on the training pitch, which is few and far between at the moment given their busy fixture list.

“It is very important that whatever team we are working with are competitive and hardy to play against,” said the Rovers boss.

“Tuesday was very pleasing without the ball, it was our first clean sheet in 17 games so that is a massive plus.

“But I also want my teams to be exciting with the ball and play attacking football as well, so it is about getting that blend.

“Obviously, we have been here just under two weeks and haven’t had much time on the training field. We have got a lot of games.

“The lads have been outstanding taking on little messages here and there. As soon as things settle down, you will hopefully see more improvements.”

Rovers’ hectic schedule isn’t about to let up any time soon, with five games coming up in the next fortnight.

Norwich come to town this afternoon looking to maintain their strong form and take a step closer to the play-off picture. There is also the FA Cup fifth round tie against Premier League Newcastle to look forward to on Tuesday night.

Eustace has already taken some steps to mitigate against the busy fixture list, with Ryan Hedges rested against Cardiff. The 28-year-old had played three games in the space of seven days following a lengthy injury absence.

Sam Gallagher was also taken off after an hour against the Bluebirds with one eye on keeping him fresh for the upcoming matches.

Eustace knows it can be difficult to find consistency during busy periods but hailed the attitude and commitment shown by his squad – a trend he hopes will continue in the coming weeks and months.

“The Championship is very relentless – you play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday. You know you have got to take into consideration the fitness levels of some of the players,” the head coach added.

“They are coming back from injury and we are asking players to go through three games when they haven’t played in four or five months.

“You are going to get that inconsistency in quality. But what we have seen so far is that level of commitment from the players, it has been outstanding.

“I don’t mind giving up a bit of quality as long as the lads are committed and being very competitive. I think that has been shown in the four games so far.

“We have played some good football at time and we have also dug in and stuck together when we have needed to.”