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Blackburn Rovers have enjoyed a solid start to the Championship season, with Tony Mowbray's side managing to collect 14 points from their opening eleven matches to leave them six points off the play-off places heading into the international break.

However, Rovers looked like they were going to have an even more impressive start to the campaign, with a 2-1 win at Reading a few matches ago taking Mowbray's side up to tenth place in the table, but a run of two defeats in three games following a 4-2 loss at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday has halted momentum and dropped Blackburn back down to mid-table.

Blackburn will be looking to build on a respectable first season back in the Championship last campaign, which saw them finish in 15th place in the table having threatened a potential play-off push in the first half of the season, but one issue that held them back last term was their poor defensive record on their travels, with Rovers conceding 48 goals away from Ewood Park.

That is something that Blackburn looked like they were beginning to address at the start of the season, having brought in defensive reinforcements in the summer in the shape of goalkeeper Christian Walton, Greg Cunningham and Tosin Adarabioyo, with Mowbray's side keeping a first clean sheet away from home this term in a 1-0 win at Hull City in August.

That clean sheet at Hull came in a run of four clean sheets in five matches for Mowbray's side, but that has since faulted with Rovers shipping eight goals in their last four Championship games, and Saturday's loss at QPR means that Mowbray's side have now shipped ten of the 14 goals they have conceded so far this season away from home.

That is something which Blackburn will need to address as the season progresses if they are going to be able to continue their signs of progress so far this term and look to mount any sort of play-off push, and Rovers' defenders individually and as a collective need to prevent individual errors when they are being put under pressure by their opponents.

Blackburn have shown that they have the ability to defend deep and compact as a unit in their matches so far this season, with performances at Ewood Park making them very difficult to break down, but in the defeats at QPR and West Brom in particular Rovers were opened up far too easily at times and allowing the opposition space to punish them in the final third.

Mowbray will need to demonstrate that he can improve the club's fortunes defensively away from home, with Blackburn's prospects of picking up wins away from Ewood Park reliant on them being difficult to breakdown and being able to counter their opponents attacks, it is an issue that must be solved to keep Rovers progressing this term.