MARKUS Olsson admits Blackburn Rovers should be in the play-offs with a pair of 20-goal strikers.

Only Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, of promoted Watford, have scored more times in the Championship this season than Rudy Gestede and Jordan Rhodes.

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But despite the efforts of Gestede and Rhodes, who have 41 goals between them in all competitions, Rovers will go into tomorrow’s final game of the campaign at home to Ipswich Town 13 points behind the top six.

And Olsson believes Gary Bowyer’s side can have only themselves to blame after failing to take three points on 11 occasions this season after going in front.

“We’ve shown we can be a really good team who can play good football but it’s our inconsistency,” said the Sweden international left-back, one of the leading contenders to win Rovers’ player of the year award, which will be announced before kick-off tomorrow.

“We’ve slipped too many times and there have been too many draws. If we could have turned those into wins, right now we’d probably be talking play-offs.

“That’s something we definitely have to work harder on as we know we can score goals with Rudy and Jordan in the team. They have scored over 20 goals each and normally if you have two strikers like that you’re in the play-offs.

“So there’s something that’s not been working – and that’s too many draws and inconsistency.”

Toward the end of their nine-match unbeaten run across October and November Rovers spent two weeks in the play-off places.

But they picked up just eight points from a possible 27 in December and January and Olsson said: “I think we were in good form up until Christmas and then the Bolton game away was the turning point a little bit you could say.

“We went to Bolton and destroyed them in the first half. We should have been leading 3-0 but we weren’t and in the end we lost.

“Then there was a period when we lost and drew games and that got us a bit too far away from the people in front of us.

“Then we got it back again a little bit but since then we’ve been chasing too much.

“Previous to that we were within a few points so I think we’ve been slipping because of ourselves.

“It’s not other teams that are punishing us, it’s mostly because of ourselves. We haven’t been focused enough as a team for 90 minutes.

“It’s the consistency of the team. We need to defend better as a team. Not just us as a back four, it’s from the two strikers. We all have to have the mentality to keep a clean sheet.”

Fifth-placed Ipswich will secure a play-off spot with a draw at Ewood Park tomorrow.

But Olsson insists ninth-placed Rovers, who are unbeaten in their last six league matches, will be out to spoil the Tractor Boys’ party.

“They’ll be coming 100 per cent fighting to get into the play-offs but we want to finish as strongly as possible and get three points at home,” said the 26-year-old, whose twin brother, Martin Olsson, plays for Ipswich’s arch-rivals Norwich City, who have already sealed their place in the top six.

“If we beat them and they don’t get into the play-offs that’s just the way football is.

“If they lose and get mad about it, it’s nothing I’m going to be worried about.”