Harry Pickering says Blackburn Rovers are determined to head into the international break on a high when they make the long trip to Portsmouth today.
Tony Mowbray's side claimed an encouraging win over Millwall last time out, and Pickering believes backing that result up at Fratton Park would further underline the progress Rovers have made in the opening weeks of the Championship season.
It has been a relentless start to the campaign, with the Pompey fixture their seventh in 21 days, in all competitions.
While Pickering feels the break falls at the right time for the ever-presents, in particular, he acknowledges there is still work to do to ensure momentum going into it.
"For the lads that have played pretty much every game I can imagine they are ready for a little rest but that's just the schedule and I think it's credit to the ones that have played and turned out every game you, given 100 per cent," said the defender.
"I think we just want to make sure we end on a high, going into the international break and make sure we put on a good performance, especially for the fans that are going to travel down. It's a long journey, so hopefully we can get the three points."
A positive result on the south coast would leave Rovers in a strong position ahead of the extended pause in league action and Pickering feels performances have generally been encouraging, regardless of results.
"I think we've started quite well and even in the games that we've lost, I think we've performed pretty well. In all the games we've been competitive," he said.
"So hopefully we can we can continue that and just get another win and that'll put us in a good position come the next game. But I think it's been a good start and we've played against some good teams, so we've shown that we can compete with them."
The unusual length of the upcoming break presents a different challenge, but Pickering is confident standards will remain high on the training ground as Rovers look to maintain their focus and form.
"It might be a little bit different because obviously we're just used to maybe missing one week and that's it," he explained.
"But I'd say we'll just make sure we maintain a good standard in training, maybe we'll probably have an in-house game or something like that to keep us going and just make sure we're doing everything right, really."
For now, Pickering is aiming for a positive outcome at Portsmouth, who sit below Rovers in the table with a point less with seven points from their six games - a points less having played a game less.
"Hopefully we can get a good result Saturday and then it'd be a good mood around the camp," he added.
The international break could also provide valuable recovery time for several injured players, giving Tony Mowbray more options for the fixtures that follow.
"Fingers crossed we can get a few back after the international break and I think that would be good," said Pickering, who replaced the injured Yuri Ribeiro in the 16th minute against Millwall.
"It's good to have a lot of competition in the squad. And obviously it helps in the tough games, we can look to the bench and bring on players that can make a difference. So hopefully we can get them back."
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