John Eustace believes Blackburn Rovers were heading for relegation when he arrived at the club in February.

Rovers had lost eight of their last 11 Championship games when Jon Dahl Tomasson left Ewood Park. Though the club were seven points clear of the bottom three, the club was in a downward spiral.

Eustace came in and shored Rovers up. Wins were not free-flowing, particularly in the early weeks, but they stopped conceding and started to draw more regularly.

READ MORE: Smashed champagne, Vardy taunt and Rovers moments missed

The head coach took his team into a huddle on the pitch after securing safety against Leicester City. When asked about that message, he explained how proud he was of the players' evolution under his regime.

Eustace explained how his staff had changed the mentality and culture from 'victims' to 'fighters'. He also admitted he thinks Rovers would have been relegated, based on the trajectory when he walked in.

"That is between the players and myself. What I would say is that I've been very, very proud of the efforts since I came in," Eustace told The Lancashire Telegraph.

"Through the highs and the lows, nobody got carried away. Previously, I think we'd have been in victim mode which people like to go into when things aren't going well.

"We have fighters in the dressing room and that's something I have tried to get the boys to understand. We are fighters and not victims. It's easy to feel sorry for yourself with things going on off the field and people doubting you.

"Not that group. They've had five defeats in 18 games and that's a fantastic achievement. Five clean sheets in nine games is a fantastic achievement, especially with a tough Championship run-in.

"If we're a little more clinical at times, we wouldn't have been in this problem. But every point was vital. When people are talking about must-win games against Millwall and Plymouth, it's important when you look at the squad we have, you have to be competitive.

"Over the course of the time I've been here, they have been apart from one game against Bristol City. Ultimately, you get your rewards and I couldn't be any more proud of the group."

"I understand what the Championship is all about. People can beat each other and the most important thing for me coming in, I think the club were going down," he added.

"We have changed the culture, we have changed the environment. To get the amount of wins we got was a huge achievement, to lose the amount of games that we lost was a huge achievement.

"It's very important now that we build in the summer and add that bit of quality which we need to make sure instead of drawing games we are winning them."