YOU’RE getting the feeling now that the Blackburn Rovers players are already thinking about the end of the season.

The towel is in, it’s on the sunbed, and they’re just waiting for the nod to go on holiday.

They’re numerically safe now, it’s tools down, and they can’t wait for the summer.

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We always forget as footballers that we can go away in the summer and go away and enjoy our summer holidays.

But the fans are the ones left frustrated. They go away thinking, ‘we can’t have another season like that’.

And it’s your performances that send them away feeling like that.

You forget as a player that you’re there to raise the profile and the morale of the football club.

It’s not something you think about but that’s your job. You may think that your job is just to go out there on the grass and try and get three points.

But you also have to look at everything else that can happen around the football club and the big role you play as part of it.

I noticed it more when I stepped out of the game and started looking on from the outside. When you’re on the inside you’re insular.

Don’t get me wrong players deserve a holiday, there’s no question about that.

It’s a long, hard season and for a lot of us it went on well into June given we were on international duty.

And nowadays, particularly, even when players do go away on holiday, they have to look after themselves.

But all the time it’s the fans who are feeling the pain of what has been a disappointing season.

And it has been a disappointing season for Blackburn Rovers. They should have done much better. That’s why the players have got to try and get something out of the last two games of the season.

The trip to Rotherham and the home match against Reading is the ideal opportunity to blood more young players.

There’s nothing to lose now and if a number of the players out of contract or on loan leave the club in the summer, then they are going to have to be replaced.

Money or not, we are going to have to look at the youth.

Darragh Lenihan has proved his worth so he’ll be there next season. You don’t have to worry about Darragh, you know he can do it as this level, now it’s just getting him to do it on a consistent basis.

So you’re looking at Connor Mahoney and other players coming from the development squad.

Can they hack it? Well the only way we will know is if they are given a go.

And, as I said, why not in these last two games.