Valerien Ismael reckons Rovers are starting to see their efforts pay off after a difficult few weeks at Ewood Park.
Ismael secured his first victory as head coach following a resilient display against Luton Town over the weekend, playing the final half hour with 10 men.
Several days prior, Rovers produced a spirited comeback to fight back from two goals down against Sheffield Wednesday.
“When you're coming into a club as a manager, you want to have an impact straight away on the games,” said Ismael.
“But we knew that the problems we had, the injuries, you see we had a lot of kids on the bench. But I think finally we stabilised our performance.
“I think we started to see the work we put in the squad the last six weeks, the energy we've got, so we finished the game always strong.
“Even (at Luton), we're down to 10, we were able to go again. Now, hopefully we can do the next step at home against Millwall.”
Rovers now face a tricky double header against Millwall and Sunderland, but Ismael’s side can head into the games with belief on the back of their last 135 minutes of football.
Millwall have won three successive matches and will be hungry to keep picking up points as they eye a late surge for the play-offs. Meanwhile, Sunderland have consistently been in the top four all season under Regis Le Bris.
“It's always why we're doing the job,” the boss added. “I think that the energy we showed all week was good.
“It was a good week for us, with four points. Now we face a new week, it will be the same, just for us to recover.
“But at least we will face the games now with more positivity, we know exactly what we have to do. For the players, I think it's a good feeling now to make sure that we can do the next step home.”
Rovers currently sit 10th in the table, although there is a six-point gap to the play-offs and sixth-place Coventry still have a game in hand.
Ismael hopes his side can keep improving and finish the season strongly, but right now his full focus is on Millwall and the challenge at Ewood Park on Friday afternoon.
“Still four games but as I say, one by one always,” he said. “Stay focused on the next game, the games are tough enough.
“We need to assess our squad, which players will be available, which players will come back from injury, and then we go again.”
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