AFTER Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede I’m not surprised that attention has now centred on Tom Cairney.

Fulham are believed to be interested in the Rovers midfielder.

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When you have a player or players doing well at a club, others will be looking at that. It’s the nature of the business. But more so when you consider Rovers’ situation.

Clubs will be looking at Blackburn’s best players because the club is in a vulnerable position.

Everyone knows it.

Needing to sell and unable to buy while under the transfer embargo, they are an obvious target for rivals trying to cherry-pick their squad.

It is like vultures round a live animal, circling and waiting for the right moment to swoop.

It is inevitable that the likes of Tom, Jordan and Rudy – to name three – will be linked with moves over the summer.

But unless it comes from the manager, the agent or the horse’s mouth I tend not to pay too much attention to it. You take it with a pinch of salt.

Rovers must tread carefully.

There must be a temptation on the one hand to sell, in order to fall in line with the Financial Fair Play rulings and be able to wheel and deal without restriction again.

But the situation they are in means they could sell four or five players and still find themselves under embargo.

It’s a fine line that we’ve got to deal with and I feel sorry for Gary Bowyer in a sense, having to do it this way.

Teams are going to test the water with offers and see what reaction they get.

I’m hoping Gary can fend them off and chase them away.

It will be an achievement if Rovers return to pre-season training with their squad in tact, but then there’s another two months to go before the window closes.

Even if they start the season without losing anyone, that would be a positive.

But I still would not relax until after deadline day.

Hopefully the camaraderie and team spirit the players enjoy when they all get back together for pre-season will encourage them to stay together and see what they can achieve this year.

  • I HAVE been doing my own pre-season preparations on a scouting course in Poland, combined with a bit of mentoring.

After delving into the coaching side of things it has been good to learn about other aspects of the game, and another way of watching football.

It has helped me to see the game and analyse it in a different way, which should be helpful for reporting and commentating as well as coaching and working towards completing my A-licence. It has been a good avenue to explore.