Tim Sherwood issues exciting Blackburn Rovers claim after Preston victory - Play-offs are a "realistic possibility" | OneFootball

Former Blackburn Rovers captain Tim Sherwood has given his verdict on what Valerien Ismael's side could achieve in the Championship this season.

Former Blackburn Rovers captain and pundit Tim Sherwood believes there is a realistic chance that Valerien Ismael's side could reach the play-offs in the Championship this season.

After a turbulent campaign, Blackburn suffered heartbreak as they missed out on the play-offs on the final day of last season, and it initially looked as though they would struggle to mount another promotion challenge this time around.

Rovers made a nightmare start to the season as they picked up just seven points from their first 10 league games, and with the club sitting as low as 23rd in the table just over a month ago, many supporters were calling for Ismael to be sacked.

However, Blackburn have been one of the form sides in the Championship in recent weeks, and they secured their fourth win in five games with a 2-1 victory over local rivals Preston North End at Deepdale on Friday night.

Lewis Miller put Rovers ahead in the 45th minute before the Lilywhites equalised just one minute later through Alfie Devine, but Ismael's men came out strongly at the start of the second half, and they sealed a deserved three points when Andri Gudjohnsen headed home Ryoya Morishita's free-kick in the 62nd minute.

While Blackburn have struggled at Ewood Park so far this season, four of their next five games are at home against Queens Park Rangers, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United, so they have a big opportunity to close the gap to the play-off places even further in the coming weeks.

Tim Sherwood drops Blackburn Rovers play-off claim after Preston North End victory

Sherwood, who captained Blackburn to the Premier League title in the 1994-95 season, claimed that the play-offs are not out of the question for his former club this season, but he admitted that they will need to significantly improve their home form if they are to seriously challenge for promotion.

"Yeah, if they get some players back to fitness as well, that's going to help," Sherwood said on Sky Sports.

"They have a lot of players out.

"I think that will give them huge confidence tonight.

"All their fans will be watching, they know that they gave everything for the cause tonight.

"They were the better team, in my opinion.

"There was a huge travelling support there from Blackburn, they need that support when they go home.

"I think the expectancy is a little bit high.

"They've got every right to expert, they pay their money, they want to be entertained and they want to win games, but they have to believe that the fans are going to help them do that.

"They will have loads of confidence now going into four home games out of the next five games.

"If they put a run together, who knows?

"The play-offs are a realistic possibility."

Blackburn Rovers could be play-off contenders if Valerien Ismael fixes big Ewood Park issue

While their early season results were disappointing, the underlying data suggested that Blackburn deserved more from some of those games, and it seems that their positive performances are finally starting to turn into results.

Rovers' victory at Preston on Friday night was particularly impressive considering their lengthy injury list, with the likes of Balazs Toth, Scott Wharton, Todd Cantwell and Augustus Kargbo all currently sidelined, and it highlights the growing spirit and mentality of Ismael's squad.

One of the main factors behind Blackburn's recent improvement has been the form of Gudjohnsen, with the Iceland international scoring four goals in his last five games, and if he can maintain his current standards, he could be the man to fire the Lancashire outfit into the play-offs.

However, Rovers have picked up just four points from their seven home games this season, with 15 of their 19 points coming on the road, so unless Ismael is able to fix his side's problems at Ewood Park, it will be difficult for them to launch a genuine top six push.