John Eustace was delighted to “do the fans proud” as Rovers returned to winning ways in the Championship and secured the bragging rights against Preston North End.
More than 21,000 supporters were in attendance at Ewood Park as Makhtar Gueye and Todd Cantwell struck either side of half time.
Brad Potts pulled one back late on to set up a nervy finish, but Rovers managed to get over the line and climb back into the top six.
“I thought we were excellent, we should have been out of sight first half. We played some fantastic football,” Eustace said after the final whistle.
“Really pleased to go in at half-time 1-0 up and the way the lads battled and stuck together in that second half, I thought we fully deserved the victory.
“I thought we were very good with and without the ball. We conceded a really sloppy goal right at the end, lack of concentration. That is disappointing.
“But it is a local derby. I am really pleased that we could get three points and do the fans proud.”
Rovers are still light in numbers due to injuries, with several Academy players named on the bench again, but showed their character to dig deep and get the job done.
“I think it is just important that the fans see that commitment from the players,” Eustace added. “I have asked for that connection between the fans and the players from when I have come in.
“You can see that they never give up, they fight for this football club. The players there, we were favourites for relegation at the start of the season.
“We lost 35 goals out of the team with Sammie Szmodics going and every one of those players have really stood up to the mark.”
Ahead of kick-off, new signing Augustus Kargbo was unveiled to the Ewood Park faithful.
Versatile forward Kargbo joins from Italian club Cesena and has put pen to paper over a contract through to June 2027.
The 25-year-old becomes the club’s third signing of the window after Adam Forshaw and Dion Sanderson.
“I think he is an exciting player with lots of pace and power, and hopefully he can add quality to the group,” said the head coach.
“I have said from day one, since we started doing well in the league, the fans, the players, everyone connected with the football club would love two or three quality players to come in.
“We are so close to having a really exciting season, but again we need players back. You can see we have got three 16-year-olds on the bench today.
“It shows the level of size of our squad and the injury problems we have got. But whoever turns up are very committed and today was a prime example of that.”
