Blackburn Rovers: Pears keen to make most of home games

It is officially the first home fixture of John Eustace’s tenure, although the head coach played an important role in the 3-1 victory against Stoke earlier this month.

Rovers struggled at home during the first half of the campaign, often failing to pick up the points their performances warranted.

Pears said: “You obviously look at your home games and think, ‘We have got to try and pick up as many points as we can’. You want to win every home game, don’t you?

“There are obviously tough away games, we have got to go to Leicester. We know they are tough games but I don’t think we look too far ahead.

“We just look at the next one and hopefully we can win every one, that is what we are trying to do. We go there to get three points and will give it our best.”

The goalkeeper marked his 50th Rovers appearance with a clean sheet during the goalless draw at Cardiff in midweek.

Pears returned to the side in following a spell out injured and has kept his place in the team in recent weeks.

“(It gives you) a lot of confidence,” he continued. “I worked really hard when I was away and I feel like I have come back a batter goalie.

“I have played a few games and shown that I can still do it. (Jon Dahl Tomasson) put his faith in me and I really appreciated that.

“I feel like I have done alright and hopefully I can keep going and getting better.

Pears has been regularly involved since returning from injury (Image: Camerasport)

“Physically, I feel better - I feel a lot stronger and more rounded. With time away, you think about how you are going to play, things away from training and I feel in a really good place.”

The past 12 months have generally been positive for the 25-year-old, who initially broke into the side following an injury to Thomas Kaminski.

“When I came in for Thomas, I feel like I did pretty well towards the end of the season,” he reflected.

“The manager kept the faith in me when he could have put him back in, which I was grateful for.

“Coming back this season, I felt alright. There were a couple of iffy goals early in the season if I am being honest. Defensively, we conceded too many goals as a team and were too open.

“I feel like I have come back pretty good and I feel pretty strong. Hopefully, I can continue to help the team.”

There have been a few changes in strategy since Eustace’s arrival in East Lancashire, one of those being from goal kicks.

Pears has tended to go longer in recent weeks whereas he previously looked to play out from the back at every opportunity.

“I don’t mind it,” he said. “Whatever the manager wants to do, I will do it.

“My legs are a bit knackered kicking 30 balls a game from not doing it! No, I am fine with it and the lads seem pretty good with it.

“We have got a good target man in (Sam) Gallagher so if he wants us to kick it a bit more, that is fine with me.”

One area that has been Rovers’ undoing at times this season has been defending set-pieces, and it is something Pears and company are eager to improve.

“The evidence is there and it hasn’t been good enough,” he admitted.

“For us, you can do all the stuff you want on the training pitch – and trust me, we do a lot on it – but when it comes to games, people have got to do their jobs better and we haven’t.

“Every time someone hasn’t done their job properly, we have been punished. It has been kind of a rolling theme really, which needs to stop.

“We have got to do our jobs better and once we get it right, we will be OK. One mistake and it has been a goal - that has been pretty consistent.

“We have got to get better as a team at that and take responsibility. It is not about who does the set-plays and it doesn’t matter whether you do them the day before or you don’t.

“It is about having the presence to beat your man on the day, and we haven’t done that so it is down to us.”