Blackburn Rovers ultimately fell frustratingly short in their attempts to claim a Championship play-off place this season.

The Ewood Park club eventually finished eighth in the final second-tier standings, six points adrift of thoe top six spots.

However, things could have been so different was it not for a run of just four wins from the final 18 games of their season that saw Tony Mowbray's side go from automatic promotion contenders to play-off also rans.

That of course, is something that Rovers will be desperate to improve on next season, to at least secure a play-off place to give them a shot at promotion to the Premier League in 2022/23.

So with that in mind, we've taken a look at three things Blackburn will have to do in order to claim a Championship play-off place during the coming campaign.

Make the right managerial appointment

There is set to be a big change in the dugout at Ewood Park this season, with Tony Mowbray on his way out of the club.

After more than five years in charge, the 58-year-old has confirmed that he will leave Blackburn in the summer, when his current contract with the club expires.

Having taken Blackburn so close to the play-offs on several occasions, only for those late season collapses to take them out of the running, Mowbray does seem to have laid the foundations for a run to the play-offs at Rovers, who must now find the right manager to take them that one step further.

Sign a striker

It was something of a surprise that Blackburn did not sign a striker at any point during this campaign, following the sale of last season's top scorer Adam Armstrong to Southampton in the summer.

Ultimately, the 22 goals of Ben Brereton-Diaz meant that is not something that overly punished Rovers, but it is noticeable that the poor run Rovers endured in the past few months of the season, largely coincided with the Chile international's own fitness issues that saw him lose some considerable momentum in front of goal.

Given Brereton-Diaz could well be on his way to pastures new this season, as he enters the final 12 months of his contract at Ewood Park, those struggles they endured in his absence during the second half of the campaign, mean at least one new attacking addition will be essential if Blackburn are to remain competitive again next season.

Stay switched on to the final whistle

One issue that has seriously hindered Blackburn over the course of the campaign, is the concession of decisive goals in second half stoppage time.

Both Luton and Coventry scored equalisers after 90 minutes against Blackburn, while Sheffield United and Bristol City both beat the Ewood Park club 1-0 thanks to stoppage time goals, ironically both in games in which Rovers had previously missed penalties.

Without those late goals conceded, Blackburn would almost certainly have claimed a top six spot, so staying alert all the way to full time is something that they will surely have to make sure they do more often next season, to retain a handful of points that could make all the difference next time around.