Ahead of their clash against former player Jordan Rhodes and Middlesbrough tonight, Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Lambert told the Lancashire Telegraph that his squad is a ‘stronger unit’ since their ex-striker departed Ewood Park.
The one-time Aston Villa boss concedes that the deal for Rhodes to leave the club ‘made good sense’ and accepts that although they’ll miss his goals, he says it is good that others now have to contribute.
Since Rhodes left the club that he scored 39% of their league goals for, Lambert has added Danny Graham, Simeon Jackson and Tony Watt to bolster their forward options. Creative midfielder Jordi Gomez also signed up from Sunderland and those are the players that Lambert believes have made the difference.
“I think we’ve got more attacking options,” said Lambert, who has been in the role since November 2015.
“I always said we had to rebuild the club.
“What will happen with the money for Jordan will happen in the summer, but the squad needed to be stronger.
“That’s not a slant on Jordan but it made good sense that that deal went through. We’re a stronger unit now.
“We’re a lot healthier than we were when I first came in. I think we’re more of a team, I think we’ve got players than can make a difference and can score.
“We’re still a long way off from where we want to be but we’re certainly a lot healthier.”
Rovers welcome Boro to Ewood Park this evening, but it remains to be seen if Aitor Karanka starts with Rhodes on his return or elects to continue with David Nugent, who started the weekend victory against Fulham.
