"Much better" - Blackburn Rovers player praised for improvement but Hayden Carter test of that awaits | OneFootball

The defender has been much more consistent in 2024/25 after a poor campaign last time out.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Blackburn Rovers have been one of the early surprise packages in the Championship this campaign, and while results have dropped off slightly in recent weeks, performances are way above last season's standards.

John Eustace's side currently occupy the final play-off position after 12 matches, despite winning just one of their last five games in the league.

Rovers had endured a difficult 2023/24, when they survived on the final day of the season thanks to a Sammie Szmodics brace against champions Leicester City. Nevertheless, this year has seen a marked upturn in performances, and they have started to look like a serious contender for the top six.

While they have found their feet going forward, defensively, Blackburn are much improved this campaign, and players who struggled in the past are starting to show why they are playing at this level.

Blackburn defender has been surprising this season

Although the season is still young, there are signs that Eustace has managed to find the fixes needed after failing to have a proper impact during his first three months in charge at Ewood Park, but he is being helped out by his players.

Rovers look a lot more compact and resolute at the back, and that is allowing them to pick up results that they perhaps might not have in 2023/24, such as their draw away at Burnley.

Football League World's Blackburn Fan Pundit, Toby Wilding, was asked which player has surprised him the most this season, either for better or worse, following their opening 12 matches.

He told FLW: "I'll say Dom Hyam and that's in a positive way. Last season he didn't really sort of live up to the level he had shown during his debut campaign with Rovers in 2022/23, certainly.

"He looked a bit off, he was a bit more suspect, there were a few errors coming into his game and I think as well, there were one or two incidents during the really tough period in the latter stage of the season when his reaction to fans expressing their frustrations didn't go down brilliantly."

Toby continued: "But this season he has been much better. He looks for the most part to be much more assured, more in control in defence, and he has looked much more like the Dom Hyam who won the Player of the Season award in his first year with the club.

"I think it's going to be really important now for him to maintain those sorts of levels with Hayden Carter now out for the next few months with injury."

Hyam has found consistency once again

Last season was a wake-up call for those at Ewood Park, and with teams like Derby County and Oxford United coming up from League One and instantly becoming competitive, it was necessary that Rovers started to right some of the wrongs from the previous year.

It is something that they have managed to do, and Hyam himself has managed to get back to a level that is a representation of his true self.

The 28-year-old has won 90% of his tackles this season, according to FotMob, while also winning nearly 100 duels before on the ground and in the air combined. He has become a dominant force at the back for Blackburn, and has returned to his best after a poor season last time out.

Hyam had to be a leader for Rovers, and there could have been a chance that if he did not pick up his performance levels, then this could have easily led to an early exit from Ewood Park. But, the centre-back has been reliable, and could play a huge part in their push for a surprise play-off place.